Stigmatized
by Dria1
Summary: OK--Harry's finally defeated Voldemort, now he's teaching at Hogwarts. Ginny has to deal with being one of his best friends, while still being his student. Eventually H/G.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

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Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I do not own Harry Potter, or anything related to the concept. I hope you enjoy the story and please review! ~Dria 

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Dear Diary—

This is the first diary I've had since my first year of school, and I'm starting my seventh. I finally feel as if I'm ready for a diary, and the fact that I bought you from a Muggle store certainly helps matters. 

I'm Ginny Weasley, the youngest in a family of seven children, and the only girl. Another interesting thing about my family is that we're all Magical (except for one of Mum's uncles, I believe, but we don't talk about him). Yes, I am a witch, and I attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. You start this school at the age of eleven, and go through seven years of schooling. Therefore, I am facing my very last year. The thought is sad.

At our school, there are four separate houses that you can be Sorted into. An old decrepit hat (The Sorting Hat) can talk and see into your brain. It will Sort you into the proper house based upon your personality. Gryffindor, the house I belong to, is known for its bravery and courage, while Ravenclaw is known for its smarts. Hufflepuff is known for its loyalty, and Slytherin is known for its ambition and cunning. However, the popular opinion of all of the Gryffindors, and most likely the rest of the other houses, will say that the Slytherins are just slimy gits.

Now that you know about my school, maybe I should fill you in on my family. As I formerly stated, I am the youngest of seven. My older brothers are Bill, Charlie, Percy, Fred and George (they're twins), and Ron. Bill is the eldest, at 28. Charlie is right behind him at 26, while Percy is younger at 22. Fred and George are 20, and Ron is just a year older than me at 18.

Bill is a cursebreaker at Gringotts, the wizarding bank. Although the banks are stationed all over the wizarding world, Bill works in Egypt. Charlie works in Romania, training dragons. Percy is at the Ministry of Magic, doing Merlin knows what, although the last thing I can remember is a very boring report about the regulation of cauldron bottom thickness. Fred and George are most likely the most interesting of my brothers—they own a joke shop. Mum was simply furious with them for not being "serious," but we've all needed a laugh in the past years. And then, there is Ron. Ron and I were always great friends, but our friendship became strained when he went off to Hogwarts a year before me. He made his own friends there—Hermione Granger and Harry Potter. However, in my fifth year, we became great friends again.

Hermione Granger is my brother's girlfriend, although it's hard to get either of them to admit it. She's extremely smart as well, and I sometimes wonder why she was a Gryffindor instead of a Ravenclaw, not that she isn't brave or anything. Hermione is one of the most courageous witches I've ever met, and I've met a few in my day. And, then there's Harry . . . Harry is probably the singular most amazing wizard that I've ever met. He's brave, smart, and the most wonderful wizard.

I've liked him since as long as I've heard of him.

And that's been a while. You see, Harry is probably the most famous wizard in the wizarding world. And, he was famous initially for something that he didn't even remember. You see, when Harry was a baby, there was an evil wizard named Voldemort. He killed Harry's parents, James and Lily Potter. And, he tried to kill Harry. The Killing Curse had never before been escaped, and most likely, it won't ever be escaped again. However, Lily died for Harry, and her protection reflected the curse back at Voldemort, leaving only a lightning shaped scar on Harry's forehead.

He grew up with his aunt and uncle, and their horrible son. The Dursleys mistreated Harry unbelievably. They would lock him in the cupboard under the stairs. They hated Harry, simply because they hated magic. Harry won't have to go back there now, because he's done with school, but he did have to spend all of his summer holidays there. He hated it, and always wanted to come with Ron to the Burrow. I never minded.

Anyway, Voldemort wasn't really gone all these years. And, when Harry found out he was a wizard, and started attending Hogwarts, Voldemort made almost continuous threats on his life. In fact, I believe his third year was the only year in which Voldemort made no attempt on his life. In Harry's fourth year, he "officially" came back. Before that, he was a shadow, he had to share a body with someone else. But, in his fourth year, my third, Voldemort gained his old body. It gives me shivers thinking about it. It was horrible.

And, then Voldemort began his attacks. Mainly, they were against Muggles (non-magical folks) and Mudbloods (a derogatory word for Muggle-borns). Hermione was extremely frightened, being Muggle-born. But, she still helped Harry. In fact, she and Ron stepped up to help Harry.

And, when I was fifteen, I helped them too. I was considered the best witch in my year, totally amazing if you ask some of my professors. Hermione and I brushed up on many complex spells, and we took tons of extra classes. We also helped Harry and Ron get ready for the fight against Voldemort, teaching them some more difficult of the curses.

But, our hardest thing was trying to come up with a spell to effectively get rid of Voldemort. Harry, Ron, Hermione, and myself attended daily meetings with the Hogwarts staff in the past two years. Hermione and I would talk between classes, and what free time we had was usually spent either in the library, or extra Defense classes.

At the beginning of last year, while working with Headmaster Dumbledore (considered the best wizard ever), we came up with a solution. Voldemort's soul was what we needed to kill. His life essence, not his body. So, with a minor modification on the Killing Curse, we found a way to shatter his essence. And, it worked. Of course, we couldn't test the method, and the final battle was just three weeks ago, on the last day of Hogwarts. 

The sky was bright and cloudless, and exams were finally over. Harry, Ron, and Hermione had just got their results from the N.E.W.T.s. They were all very happy, their scores were more than acceptable. Hermione, of course, had the most. We were all outside, strolling around the grounds. Ron and Hermione were trying to inconspicuously hold hands. Harry and I shared an amused grin at their expense, and we were about to start teasing them unmercifully when it happened. 

Harry's bright green eyes started clouding over. I had rarely seen this happen, it mainly happened only when he was in pain. But, nonetheless, his eyes were becoming unfocused, and his face was paling rapidly. I asked him if he was all right, as he slowly started sinking to his knees. The scar on his forehead was slowly starting to burn an angry red, and I knew what was happening. 

Then Hermione said it. Three simple words, and we all shivered. "It's started then."

And it had. The grounds were soon swarming with Death Eaters, Voldemort's followers. There was mass confusion on the grounds. Some of the younger students tried vainly to run to the castle, while some of the older, braver students rushed into the confusion. That day . . . reliving it is horrible. I don't want to think of it.

We won. Through great loss to our side though. Most of the losses came from the older students, the younger ones had made it into the safety of the castle. Most of Hermione, Ron, and Harry's classmates were lost. Parvati Patil, Seamus Finnigan, Dean Thomas, Susan Bones, Hannah Abbott, Ernie MacMillon, Terry Boot. Then, there were several of my classmates: Jill Kensington, Mark Madison, Timothy Drake, Kim Vowels. There were more, of course. And, then, the teaching staff. We lost McGonagall and Flitwick, Sprout, and our latest Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, who actually knew what he was talking about.

The memories still hurt. But, there is one thing that hurts more than that. After that fateful day, although we won, we've seen Harry twice in that time. The first time was right after the battle. He made his way through the body laden battlefield, towards us.

He barely saw us. He had taken a haunted look, and his mouth was hanging open. He slowly walked past us, towards the castle, mercifully untouched. That night, he left. Ron said that his things were already pack, he simply shrank his trunk, then flew off on his broomstick—his Firebolt. To say we were worried would be an understatement. And, add his insane godfather, the escaped convict Sirius Black (who isn't really the murderer that everyone thought him to be, he's innocent), was insane. I know that he received a message from Harry, via Hedwig, Harry's owl.

The second time we saw him was less than a week ago. We saw him at a store, in Muggle London. Hermione and I were out shopping for a few things, this has been one of the few times that we've had a chance to do anything really fun together. She and Ron were planning a great date, and I just wanted to get some new Muggle clothing. We were in a very nice men's clothing store, Hermione gushing about how nice Ron would look in one of the suits. I had rolled my eyes, then looked over to the side. And, there he was. Standing there, his eyes wide with fright. He had looked at us, then ducked out of the store. I don't even know if Hermione saw him. 

We miss him. I miss him. I need him here. The summer holidays are almost half over, and then I'll be returning to Hogwarts. And, somehow, I'll have to survive the whole term without my friends. There will be no Ron, no Hermione, no Harry . . . I'll have no friends. Sure, there are the people in my year . . . I just never got along with them after my first year.

Oh, I left that out, didn't I? Yeah, in my first year, through an enchanted diary, I was possessed by Tom Riddle. He's better known as Voldemort. I, unknowingly, got the ability to talk to snakes (Harry also has the ability), and unleashed a basilisk. It's a huge snake with large yellow eyes. Anyway, when the snake saw someone, it would instantly kill them. Luckily, no one actually saw the snake eye to eye, just through water, ghosts, or in a mirror. Harry saved me.

Have I mentioned that I miss him? 

Love Always—

Ginny Weasley

Ginny rolled over on her bed, shutting her diary and placing it in the drawer of the table next to her bed. Closing her eyes briefly, she ran a hand through her curly red hair before standing abruptly. Her mind was still focused on Harry as she started pacing back and forth.

She desperately felt the need to see him again. His companionship helped her stomach Ron and Hermione's constant bickering, and even worse, there make-up times. Already, in the three weeks that he'd been gone, Ron and Hermione had gotten into a fight a day, each lasting about half an hour in length. Then, Hermione would stomp off to complain to Ginny, until Ron would shamefully approach Ginny's room. Then, the two would be gone for an hour, at the least.

Ginny felt extremely alone, and knew that he loneliness wouldn't be going away any time soon. She didn't really have any friends at Hogwarts, she was mainly around Hermione, Ron, and Harry. And, the Burrow was now completely empty save her parents, Ron, and Hermione. With her father working overtime at the Ministry, and Hermione and Ron so involved with each other, Ginny didn't know what to do. Plus, her mother was beside herself with worry about Harry. Ginny was certain that she was nervous enough for the both of them.

Making her mind up not to sit around and do nothing, she resolutely got up and walked to her door. She opened it quickly, then thundered down the steps. She walked into the living room, where Ron and Hermione sat, Hermione poring over a book. Ron was watching her with an amused glance, clearly taking pleasure in annoying her in any way he possibly could. He had his wand out, albeit hidden, and was levitating and enchanting different things.

Rolling her eyes, Ginny strolled over to slump in a chair next to Hermione. Hermione barely lifted her eyes, but acknowledged Ginny nonetheless.

"Ron! Stop it!" she finally ordered, slamming her book down. Ginny's older brother laughed, running a hand through his already mused red hair. He leaned forward and interlaced his fingers with her, dropping a kiss on one of the knuckles. Ginny groaned aloud, and made to push herself out of the chair.

"Ginny?" Hermione questioned, turning to look at the younger girl. Ginny was scowling, but Hermione took no account. "Are you all right?" Ginny simply shrugged, slumping back down.

"What's wrong, Gin?" Ron asked, now sounding slightly concerned.

"Nothing," she sighed. Hermione nodded, then glared at Ron. However, her boyfriend didn't take notice of her glare, he just stared at his sister with wide blue eyes.

"Ron, maybe you could leave Gin and me alone for a few minutes?" Hermione asked, slowly disengaging her hand from his. He nodded, getting up and slowly walking out of the Burrow to the trees in the backyard.

"It's Harry, isn't it?" Ginny glared up at the curly haired girl, seeming to be at a loss for words. Hermione could tell she was trying to think of a way to politely and eloquently say everything that was on her mind.

"It's Harry," she finally confirmed. "I can't keep him off of my mind. The last battle plays over and over again, as much as I try to block it out. I see Harry, looking shattered, the fire in his eyes gone. And, then, I think about my next year at Hogwarts. Can anyone answer what will happen there? Hermione, I'm an outcast with my peers. The only way I've survived the past years is because of the three of you. I'm the last Weasley, I'm the last of us, and it's just so hard, you know?" Ginny asked, the words tumbling out. "Plus, I feel so lonely _here_! I was hoping that the feeling of isolation wouldn't start until I got back, but now it's just you and Ron. I know that you don't mean to do it, but you have been so much less . . . bashful about your feelings for one another since the battle. And, I know it's a good thing, and I'm truly happy for you. But, I always had Harry before. When you two would fight, or hold hands, or sneak off to snog in the broom closets, he was there for me. I had a friend. And, he's gone."

Hermione thoughtfully leaned back, watching Ginny. Nodding to herself, she looked around. "Write him, Gin. I will try to be there for you more, I realize that I haven't lately, but I will be. But, your owl will be able to reach Harry, you know it should be able to. So, write him. Tell him what's going on, tell him what you feel. And, we'll take some more trips to Muggle London, and Diagon Alley. Do you really have no friends in your year?"

"Well . . . Colin and I could be friends," Ginny said. "I guess I could actually try to be friends with him. I haven't tried yet. But, I will write to Harry. It may not change anything, but I hope it will." Hermione smiled, noting with pleasure that her friend was looking more alive than she had in the past few days.

"Go ahead then. I know you'll want to start immediately on your letter for Harry. Tonight, after dinner, we'll have a chat, shall we? Now, Ron looks a bit lonely." Ginny gave Hermione a smile, before running up to her room and grabbing a quill and some parchment. Tapping the quill slowly against her lip, she tried to decide what to say to Harry. Finally being inspired, she started writing fluently.

In ten short minutes, she was done. She just had to find an owl to take the letter to Harry. She immediately got up and ran around the house.

Three weeks later, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny were in the middle of eating breakfast. While still bleary eyed, Ron apparently saw something that sparked his interest. He squinted off in the distance, eventually getting up and heading to the window. Opening it just in time, he seemed to disbelieve what he saw in front of him.

"Is that . . . Hedwig?" he asked. Harry's snowy white owl was indeed perched on the kitchen table. Hooting indignantly at Ron, she stuck her leg out to Ginny. "That must be for me or Hermione. Why is she handing it to you?"

"We've been writing for weeks," Ginny said. "I assure you that this is my letter. Thanks, Hedwig," Ginny said, smiling at the snowy owl and feeding it a piece of bacon. She took the letter, opening it and scanning it quickly. A quick grin spread across her face, followed by the chewing of her lip, then another grin.

"MUM!" she shouted. Molly Weasley ran into the room, looking around quickly. Satisfied that all of her children were quite safe, she clutched a hand to her chest. "I may be having a guest stay in a couple of days," Ginny said, sounding slightly unsure of herself.

"Virginia Weasley! You didn't even ask if you could have a guest! Who would come at a time like this? The wizarding—"

"The reason I didn't ask, Mother, is because I figured he would say no. And, besides, you've never turned Harry down before," Ginny interrupted, smiling at her mother. Her mother gasped, putting a hand over her mouth.

"Harry's coming here?" Ron incredulously asked. 

"Well, yes. Just for a week or two. Apparently, he's been in contact with Sirius. Sirius is still trying to get a flat in Hogsmeade and is staying with Remus Lupin. Of course, Harry could stay there, but he's been living in Muggle London. I invited him to stay for a while, be in the wizarding world without actually having to take part in it. He enjoyed that idea. There's more news, but it's not my place to tell you that," she said. Inside, she was dying to tell them that Harry had also talked to Dumbledore, and would be teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts the next year. However, she knew that it was his job to tell the rest of her friends that.

"When's he to arrive, Gin?" Hermione asked, grinning at her younger friend. Ginny's smile grew wider, as she bit her lip.

"Tomorrow," she said happily. Hermione grinned even wider, but Mrs. Weasley began to look livid.

"Well, this house is unacceptable! We'll have to clean out Fred and George's room, clean the house, get more groceries . . . That's it, Ginny, up with you! You're helping get the twins' room ready!" her mother scolded. Ginny nodded, grinning at Hermione, thankful that as of her fourth year summer the ban on no magic in summer holidays had been lifted.

"I'll help. Come on, Gin, you may want to change," Hermione said, looking at the casual skirt and blouse that Ginny was wearing.

"Okay. I'll meet you in the twins' room in ten," she said. Hermione nodded, and the two girls raced up the stairs. Ginny immediately went to her room to pull out a white tank top and a pair of old, cut-off shorts. She secured her flame colored hair in a high ponytail, before grabbing her wand and heading into the other room. Hermione was already waiting anxiously for her.

The day was spent pointing their wands at the dust that covered everything, and vigorously cleaning stains that had clearly bubbled over from suspicious potions and various creations. In fact, Ginny discovered that the twins had left a few surprises for whoever slept there next. The beds were enchanted to transform the person into a pelican, while Filibuster Fireworks exploded under the beds.

"That's the twins for you," Hermione said, grinning at Ginny as she pointed them out. Ginny nodded, quickly deactivating the Fireworks, before taking the more difficult job of un-Charming the beds. It took her nearly ten minutes, but she managed.

"Okay, we're done here," Ginny said as the cleaned the last surface and sent a Cleaning Charm at the bed. Hermione shot her a grin, and the two girls bounded down the stairs to help clean the living room.

"Ron got stuck degnoming the garden," Hermione said as they walked past a window that showed the backyard. Ginny rolled her eyes as her friend rapidly became entranced with the image of her boyfriend bending down to pick the creatures up then toss them as far as he could. Ginny grabbed her arm when she heard Hermione give a sigh.

"That's my brother you're pining over," Ginny pointed out. Hermione grinned impishly, before they headed down to the living room. They cleaned for another two hours, then both collapsed into chairs, their faces covered in dirt and sweating slightly.

"Why is it just as difficult to clean with magic as it is to clean the Muggle way?" Hermione asked. Ginny simply shrugged, blowing a strand of hair that had fallen into her eyes away. Seconds later, she repeated the action when it fell again.

"I think I'm going to go talk to Ron," Hermione said.

"Hermione, take a shower first. Trust me, you don't want to go after him at the moment," Ginny said. Hermione looked at the bottom half of herself, then nodded. Ginny grinned, before following her up the stairs. Entering her room, she reached for her diary.

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Dear Diary—

Well, Harry's coming in tomorrow! I'm so excited, I can hardly wait. I won't be alone anymore. I know that he's not going to be the same, the letters we've exchanged have told me that much. But, I hope that being around his friends will make him more of himself, if that really makes sense.

I think that it's going to be a while before he truly recovers. Going back to Hogwarts, even if it is to teach, will definitely help him a lot. I think that he'll feel strange, though. At least Snape won't be at his throat any longer; they made their peace during the war.

I have to go back in a little over two weeks. Well, at least Harry will be teaching me. He told me that when he gets here, he'll tell me some other new additions to the teaching staff. I think that he is going to accompany me to Diagon Alley to get my school stuff. He may be picking up some stuff also. 

I have a few concerns about returning to Hogwarts. Who will be Head of Gryffindor? Or Ravenclaw? And, I have to wonder who the Head Boy and Head Girl are. They didn't pick me, thank God. I don't know that I would really want to be Head Girl. I don't mind prefect status, after all, you still can break rules. Minor ones, of course.

Well, I'm utterly exhausted from cleaning all day. I think I'm going to go to bed.

Love Always—

Ginny

With that Ginny put her journal in the drawer of her table, lying back on her bed. She focused her chocolate brown eyes on the ceiling, wishing that she could just go to sleep and then wake up right as Harry was to arrive. Glancing at her clock, she saw it was three o'clock. She grinned, 21 hours left.

Her eyelids slowly fluttered close, and she was swept into dreams of emerald green eyes and jet-black hair.

"Ginny! What time will Harry arrive?" were the first things she heard when she awoke the next morning. Blearily glancing about the room, Ginny's eyes once again landed on the clock. It was already 9:30! She jumped up, looking around in confusion. Running a hand through her tangled hair, she headed towards her closet. She shuffled through her clothes, before remembering her mum had asked her a question.

"He should be here at noon!" Ginny yelled back, choosing a sky-blue tank top and a white skirt that reached her kneecaps. Heading for the bathroom with those and a few other items in hand, she hurried to take a shower, then dried her hair with a quick Charm. She quickly applied a light layer of make-up, before hurrying back to her room. She slipped into a pair of white sandals, then went downstairs to eat breakfast.

"Ready for Harry to arrive, Gin?" Hermione asked with an amused grin. Ginny rolled her eyes and grabbed a muffin. She sat down next to Hermione, pouring a cup of coffee. She quickly ate, tapping her foot impatiently.

"Gin, you still have about two hours," Hermione said. Biting her lip, Ginny decided to go work on some of her Potions homework. She told Hermione, then ran upstairs. She sat at her desk, thoughtfully writing an essay about Veritaserum, how to prepare it, and its full effects. 

It took her almost two hours. When she was done, she checked her watch and realized that it was time for Harry to arrive. She dropped her things excitedly, running down the stairs quickly.

"I thought you might be late," Ron said from a seat in the living room. Ginny tried to ignore his amused tone and passed him to stand in front of the Burrow. She waited for a few moments, before he appeared in front of her. Trying to hide her surprise, she smiled at him.

"Hello," she said softly. "You've learned to Apparate, then?" she questioned. Harry nodded, looking at her with dead green eyes. He was holding his trunk in one hand, and looked up at the Burrow.

"Yeah. Have you told them about Hogwarts?" he asked. Ginny shook her head softly. She smiled at him, walking towards him.

"It's your news, Harry. Come on, I'll lead you up to the twins' room," she said. He nodded, levitating his trunk and following her into the Burrow. They passed Ron, who quickly jumped up, but sat back down when Hermione poked him. Silence reigned as they walked to the twins' room.

"Do I need to worry about any surprises that the twins may have had in store for whomever had their room next?" Harry asked. Ginny turned to grin at him.

"Well . . . typically, yes. But, Hermione and I cleaned yesterday, and I cast a spell to see if their were any spells, and then I counteracted it," she said, seeming quite pleased.

"What did they have set up?" Harry asked curiously. Ginny giggled, imagining Harry turning into a pelican.

"Oh, transfiguration into a pelican, and fireworks," Ginny said as they entered the room he would be staying in. Harry rolled his eyes, grinning at her softly. Ginny basked in his smile; it had been six long weeks since she had seen him, and his smile was like a ray of sunshine.

"That's the twins for you," he said, placing his trunk at the foot of his bed, before sitting decidedly on the bed. He looked worried, but he began to look relieved when he realized that nothing had happened to him.

"Hey, I told you I got rid of that charm," Ginny told him, crossing her arms over her chest. "Didn't you believe me? Come on, Harry." Harry shrugged, lying back and looking up at her.

"What's wrong?" she asked, sitting next to him. Harry shrugged, not looking at her. "Harry, you know that you can trust me."

"I know, Gin. It's just hard, you know? I've been so used to fighting Voldemort and everything that I don't know what to do now. I mean, I know I'm going to teach, but I don't know that I'll be up for it. Don't you think that I'll be horrible?"

"Harry, doubt in yourself is not becoming," Ginny said, swinging her legs up on the bed. "I know that you can do this, so you shouldn't worry about it. You'll do great." Harry simply shrugged and turned on his side to face her.

"You'll help?" he asked in a hopeful voice. Ginny nodded, leaning back against the wall to support her back, before running a hand through her curly hair.

"Of course I will. Harry, I'll always be there to help you," she said. "Now, are you up to facing the firing squad? I think Ron and Hermione will want to talk to you. Just to let you know, though, Ron found out we had been writing yesterday. I don't think he's going to be overly enthusiastic that you confided more in me than him," Ginny told him. Harry nodded, following her out of the room.


	2. Chapter 2

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Disclaimer: I unfortunately, do not own anything that you recognize--all is from the wonderful J.K. Rowling. I do own Beth Warren and Melia Davis.

A/N: Thanks to everyone who reviewed, and to Erin for actually reading this stuff and fixing all of the horrid mistakes. Please review :) 

Chapter Two

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Dear Diary,

Well, Harry told everyone at dinner last night about his position as Hogwarts' Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. No one was actually surprised, except maybe for Ron. And even he wasn't truly surprised. He just said that he hoped that he would show as much favoritism to the Gryffindors as Snape, the Potions Professor, did to the Slytherins. At this Hermione was quite livid, understandably so; she followed all the rules, except for when she sneaked out with Harry and Ron.

He did bring news of the replacements of all of the other professors. Apparently, Sirius will be taking a position as a Transfiguration professor, and the Head of Gryffindor. I thought it was very fitting, and he will just stay at Remus' house during the summer. It will help save money.

Neville Longbottom is going to be teaching Herbology—I never thought I'd see him as a teacher. True, Herbology was his best subject, but I can't imagine him getting up in front of all of the students, and trying to teach. Strange idea, isn't it?

And, then, replacing Professor Flitwick will be a person that I'm unfamiliar with. Harry named Beth Warren, and no one knew of her. Harry said that he had met her once, when he visited Hogwarts after getting the job (right before getting his Apparation license in Hogsmeade). She seemed very nice, he assured me.

Of course, I'm the only one who really has to worry as I'm the only one attending the school. But, Mum kept glaring at Ron whenever Harry mentioned teaching, and then she'd shoot a meaningful glance at Hermione, too. I think she wants him to get a job really soon, but he can be a bit thick at times.

Oh, and Harry is only staying with us for a week. He and I are going to Diagon Alley later today, I'm going to get all of my school things and Harry's going to get some things to help him out at Hogwarts. I'm not really sure what that is, but he insisted that he would have a reason to go. I think that he's just going to miss the opportunity to go down there and have fun. I'm sure he'll want to hit Quality Quidditch Supplies, and the ice cream parlor. Of course, he did have some great times there.

I guess I should go get ready now that I know that Harry will be looking for me in about an hour. We decided that we'd go just about noon, and I didn't get up until eleven. I better go.

Love Always

Ginny

Ginny put her diary up then looked through her clothing. She found a pair of blue jeans and a white spaghetti strap shirt, before heading to the bathroom. She quickly got ready and put her hair into a ponytail, letting a few tendrils escape.

"Gin! Are you ready?" Ginny heard someone yell. Ginny left the room and ran down the stairs, seeing Harry waiting in the kitchen for her. She smiled at him, before looking at her mother, who was holding the pot of Floo Powder.

"So, I'll Apparate into the Leaky Cauldron and meet you at the fireplace," Harry told her as she reached for a pinch of powder. Ginny scowled at him, as he grinned at her.

"Okay. At least I get to use magic, and I won't be covered in soot," Ginny said. Harry grinned at her, before disappearing with a slight pop. She threw the powder into the fireplace, then went to the Leaky Cauldron.

"I beat you," Harry taunted from beside the fireplace. Ginny rolled her eyes dramatically, looking down at herself. She was covered in ash and soot. She reached for her wand and quickly cast a cleaning spell on herself. Then, she started out of the Leaky Cauldron to Diagon Alley behind it. Harry followed her quickly, as they debated which store to go to first.

"I need books, Harry! And, really, you need a copy of your book," Ginny said, frowning slightly at him.

"Gin, Dumbledore already got me a set of all of the books I'll be using. You do have a different one than all of the other years," Harry said. Ginny sighed.

"Well, you can always use quills and parchment and ink. Let's go!" she said. Harry watched her with a smile, before actually coming up with a good reason to go somewhere else first.

"I have to go to Gringotts. How else will I buy anything?" he asked. Ginny nodded as they headed towards the large white building. They got in a cart, heading down a large hill almost immediately. When they arrived at Harry's vault, he grabbed many different coins, before getting back into the cart. 

Not even ten minutes later, they were in Flourish and Blotts, picking out Ginny's books. 

"What are you in this year, Gin?" Harry asked.

"Advanced Defense Against the Dark Arts, Advanced Charms, Advanced Transfiguration, Potions, Herbology, Magical Healing, and Ancient Runes," Ginny told him. "Magical Healing is getting really difficult, but it's proved to be useful," she said. A closed-off look appeared on Harry's face at that statement, causing Ginny to wince. She was careless to say that, the last time they really used her powers was in the last battle with Voldemort.

"I'm sure it has. Are you done?" Harry asked stiffly. Ginny grabbed a few more of the second hand books, before nodding slightly. They headed towards the parchment and ink, each getting enough to last them most of the year. After paying for their things, Ginny looked up at Harry.

"I'm sorry about that, Harry. I wasn't thinking, but I think you need to talk about it. Holding it in isn't going to help anything," Ginny said. Harry nodded, his jaw clinched, before turning his emerald eyes to her.

"That's okay, Gin. I know you didn't mean it, but I can't talk about that day," he said. "Anyway, I was thinking, maybe if you have a free period while I'm teaching, I can have you come in as an assistant. I'm sure Dumbledore will agree," Harry pointed out.

"That sounds fun. You think I can handle it?" she asked, scrunching up her nose. Harry laughed at her, leading her to Quality Quidditch Supplies.

"I know you can do it, Gin. I've seen you out there, and you're amazing," Harry told her. Ginny blushed faintly, before jumping as someone called her name.

"Melia!" she shouted, grinning at the girl with long blond hair and bright blue eyes. The girl ran toward her.

"I haven't seen you in ages!" Melia Davis said excitedly. Ginny and Melia had always been slight friends, but Melia's best friend, Jill, was killed in the final battle. Ginny had comforted her the next day, and it appeared that the other girl remembered her service.

"Yeah, I know. Melia, do you know Harry?" Ginny asked. Melia looked up at Harry and flashed him a wide grin.

"I've never talked to you, but it's nice to meet you. Hey, Ginny, do you want to sit together on the Express? I'm sure Colin will join us," Melia said.

"Yeah, that sounds great. So, what are you doing here, besides school supplies?" Ginny asked.

"Leading my little brother around. Derrick is a third year Hufflepuff, and Mum decided that I could go alone this year. Woo Hoo! I have to try to drag him out of this bloody store. He's obsessed with Quidditch—he plays Chaser. He's annoying as anything, too much of a Hufflepuff," Melia said, scrunching her face. Ginny laughed.

"Percy and I are the only two that don't play Quidditch in seven kids. I understand how it is to grow up with people who are so obsessed with it. Actually, Harry's quite into Quidditch, but he isn't as insufferable as the rest of them. He can carry on an interesting conversation," Ginny told her. Melia giggled.

"So . . . have you heard anything about the House, and new teachers?" she asked, suddenly becoming serious. Ginny glanced up at Harry, wondering what to tell her friend.

"Actually, yes, Ginny has. I'm going to be the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, and Sirius Black will be teaching Transfiguration," Harry said. Melia's eyes grew round, but she remembered how he had been cleared. "He's also going to be Head of Gryffindor. Neville Longbottom is going to teach Herbology and Beth Warren is going to teach Charms."

"Thanks for the information. But, I better run. Meet you at King's Cross," Melia told her.

"All right, bye Melia," Ginny said, watching the blond go through the store, searching for her younger brother. She grinned and looked up at Harry. He was smiling down at her, then turned to look at the latest broomstick.

"Hermione said that you thought that you'd be alone at school," Harry told her. Ginny shrugged, looking uncomfortable.

"We haven't really been friends before. But, that day changed everything," she said. "And, I know you don't want to talk about it, but things have changed a lot," she said sadly.

"Yeah. I guess so. It's going to be weird not playing Quidditch," he said sadly, looking fondly at the various Quidditch supplies filling the store. Ginny shook her head sadly.

"Do you want to go see Fred? I think he's working in the shop here today. I'm pretty sure that it's George's day in Hogsmeade," Ginny said, looking around in boredom.

"Boring person," Harry told her fondly. "Let's go see one of the twins. What have they been up to lately?" he asked her.

"Um . . . I think that George has been dating all of the time, he has about twenty girlfriends at the moment. But, Fred is still dating Angelina. That's really surprising," Ginny said. "I mean, yeah, they were exclusive at Hogwarts, but they've only gotten to be a better couple as the years have gone by. I think she's coming to the Burrow for dinner with him tomorrow night."

"Who all will be there?" Harry asked curiously.

"Um, Penny and Percy, Fred and Angelina, Hermione and Ron, George and his current girlfriend, probably. Charlie may be able to drop by, I think he was up for a meeting with the Ministry the other day," Ginny said.

"Why was Charlie meeting with the Ministry?" 

"His involvement in the war. That's all he can tell us, at least. I don't know what to think about it, really. He could be working for them now, all I know. Anyway, Mum's been trying to get all of my brothers married, and the fact that Percy has gotten married has just helped that," Ginny said.

"I'm sure. I can't believe that Percy has already gotten married," Harry said.

"Well, you know how close he and Penny were in school. And, Percy never was all that outgoing. He and Penny are perfect for one another. Mum's in love with Penny, too. She was so thrilled when they announced their engagement."

"Yeah, I'm sure. The only thing better would be to get Hermione into the family," Harry said. Ginny giggled softly.

"Don't mention that around Ron. His face will turn five shades of red, all in one second. Or, on second thought, be more than happy to mention it to him," Ginny said with a smirk as she entered Weasley Wizarding Wheezes, the Diagon Alley location.

"Gin! Harry!" her elder brother exclaimed. Ginny turned to greet him, frowning in concentration. She cocked her head to the side, before reaching to hug him.

"George, what are you doing here? I thought it was Fred's day to work here," Ginny said, biting her lip in thoughtful manner. George shrugged, looking at Harry. 

"Hello George," Harry greeted.

"Hi Harry. I suppose you'll be at the family dinner tomorrow?" he questioned.

"I've been staying at the Burrow, of course I will be there. Are you going to be bringing anyone?"

"Maybe. I just saw Katie Bell, and I invited her to come. She agreed, so I think she'll be there."

"George! Katie's decent, and if you hurt her I will be very disappointed in you," Ginny warned. George rolled his eyes.

"I'm sure I'll get the same speech from Fred. I know that Katie and Angelina are still very good friends, and Fred and Angelina are very close still. So, I'm not going to treat her like she's any girl, and I'm not going to use her," George assured.

"Very good. Now, how's everything at your flat?" Ginny asked interestedly. George grinned wickedly, winking at Harry.

"Very loud. Fred was never very good at Silencing Charms, and it appears that Angelina isn't any better." Ginny rapidly turned bright red, then nodded.

"Yeah, I guess so. Hmm, wonder what Mum would say about the two of you living in sin," Ginny commented.

"Probably the same thing she would say about a certain fling last summer you may have had," George said innocently. Ginny's face paled instantly, and she looked at her brother with wide brown eyes.

"That was two days, George. You promised never to bring it up," she said in a hushed voice.

"Aw, Gin-Gin doesn't want to talk about her exploits with the Muggles?"

"Have a nice day, George," Ginny said, turning to walk out of the store. "Are you coming, Harry?" They slowly walked back to the Leaky Cauldron.

"Gin, what's that about?" he asked quietly. Ginny heaved a great sigh, before sitting at an empty table.

"Last summer, the twins and I took a trip to Muggle London, and I met this guy. He and I become quick friends . . . and it progressed. Nothing happened, but Mum's unbelievably overprotective, especially after the Chamber of Secrets. So, George just uses it to get me to shut up," Ginny said.

"That sounds stupid," Harry said. Ginny nodded slowly, but shrugged anyway. Glancing through the menu, she leaned back to look at Harry. Suddenly, the waiter came to take their orders, and as soon as he had gotten their orders, he left.

"So, Gin, I was thinking, I may go up to Hogwarts tomorrow to see if Dumbledore will allow you to be my assistant. And, I was thinking, if it's okay with you, that maybe I could see if you could come back to help me prepare early," Harry offered.

"That's fine, Harry. I mean, you'd have to ask Dumbledore first, and then I'd have to get it approved with Mum and Dad, but I think they'll be okay with it. They trust you," Ginny said with a grin.

"That's nice to know. See, I don't really know how to map out what I should do, and things like that," Harry said.

"Maybe you should wait and see about your classes. I think that it will be different from when you had the classes. And, I think that the Unforgivable Curses should be taught at a younger age, well, at least starting fourth year. And, maybe the Patronus Charm? It's very important for them to learn it. I mean, I know that the Dementors are pretty much secured at Azkaban—"

"Ginny, I agree. The Patronus Charm should be taught. People never really know when they'll be up against a real Dementor. I mean, heaven forbid that any get away, but it's important," Harry agreed. Ginny smiled as the food was brought out to their table.

They quickly ate, chatting quietly about what kind of things Harry should teach, and Harry filling Ginny in on some of the work she could expect. 

They were soon finished with their meal, and then they hurried to the Burrow, Ginny by Floo Powder and Harry Apparating. She fell out of the fireplace into the living room, and she heard two people spring apart rather hurriedly.

"Gin! You're already back!" Ron squeaked.

"Yes, I am. I see you two have the house to yourselves," Ginny said, looking at the two red-faced people in front of her. "Has Harry arrived, or did he get an eyeful and pop out?" she asked, looking pointedly at Hermione's disheveled top. Hermione, if possible, flushed even more red. "It's okay. I'm going up to my room," Ginny said, walking past the two of them to go up the stairs to her room. 

"Sorry," Hermione called out as she ascended the stairs. Ginny just threw her a cheeky grin, stopping as she almost ran into Harry.

"Hey, Gin," he said, grinning. "It's been such a long time." Ginny didn't say anything, but stopped him as he started down the stairs.

"I don't suggest that. Hermione, Ron, you, and I are the only ones left in the house. They were making interesting use of the living room," Ginny warned him. Harry grimaced as he looked at Ginny.

"I'm sorry," he said, truthfully sounding sorry. Ginny shrugged, glancing down at herself and realizing that she was still covered in soot. She pointed her wand at herself and quickly cleaned her clothing.

"Do you want to go ahead to Hogwarts?" Harry asked. "I think we should talk to Dumbledore as soon as possible about you helping me possibly, and if you are to come back with me early," he said.

"I did promise Melia that I would sit with her," Ginny said. Harry sighed.

"If you don't want to go back, that's fine," he said abruptly, running a hand through his messy hair before edging back a little towards the twins' room.

"Harry, of course I want to go. I'm just worried about Melia. I don't want her to be alone. Come on let's go talk to Dumbledore. Wait, am I going to have to use Floo Powder again?" she asked, groaning. Harry grinned down at her.

"I'm afraid so. Come on, I'll take Floo with you this time," he said. Ginny raised an eyebrow delicately, before running down the stairs, making sure to make plenty of noise so Hermione and Ron wouldn't be engaged in any activities that Ginny wouldn't want to see.

"Where are you going now?" Ron asked crossly as she entered the room. Ginny smiled widely, before noticing that Harry wasn't behind.

"Harry! Get down here, you promised you'd travel by Floo!" she shouted up the stairs. A loud pop in the middle of the room returned a very amused Harry, who smirked at Ginny.

"I said I would do the Floo, didn't I? I was hoping I could Apparate before you'd realize I wasn't Flooing," he said. Ginny shook her head and handed him some Floo Powder.

"You can go first, then," she said. Harry groaned, then nodded at her resolute expression.

"The Three Broomsticks?" he asked.

"Sounds as good as any other. I personally don't fancy using the fireplace at the twins' shop. I'd imagine that it may do something rather nasty to you," Ginny said. Harry nodded, tossing the Floo Powder in the fireplace, before Apparating out with a grin in Ginny's direction. She sighed, before quickly stepping up to the fireplace and going to the Three Broomsticks. 

She emerged from the public fireplace standing next to a satisfied Harry Potter. He casually flicked his wand over her, then glanced around the fairly empty shop.

"What do you say to a butterbeer, Gin?" he asked. She shrugged quickly, then nodded. They sat down to have a quick butterbeer, and soon left the shop. Walking in silence to the magnificent castle that stood at the edge of their view, Ginny kept stealing looks at Harry. He looked slightly nervous at the sight of the school, and Ginny was trying to work out why he would be nervous.

"Race you to the school?" Harry asked.

"Outer gates or main doors?" Ginny questioned.

"Gates." They shared a glance, and with a nod, they both took off. Ginny had far shorter legs than Harry, but had grown up with six boys chasing her all over the place. But, Harry also had been chased around horridly as a child, so they put up a good race. Harry was the first to the gates, though, and smirked at her as she arrived only seconds later.

"Oh, yeah, you're all happy now, aren't you? You beat me, big deal," Ginny grumbled. Harry laughed at her, before pushing the gates open and striding purposefully towards the large oak doors. Ginny ran to catch up with him, and they slowly entered the school carefully.

"This place seems so strange without students here," Ginny said. Harry nodded his agreement, placing his hand on her back and leading her gently towards the main staircases.

"Potter, Weasley, what are you doing here?" a voice growled. Ginny whipped around and smiled at the sight before her. A man with long black robes, greasy black hair, and a hooked nose stood in front of them.

"Professor Snape!" Ginny said with a grin. He scowled at her, looking at them through narrow eyes.

"I need to speak with Professor Dumbledore about my position," Harry said.

"And, Miss Weasley is here because?" Snape asked. Ginny looked over at him, biting her lip gently.

"That is between Ginny, Professor Dumbledore, and me. Now, we'll be off to his office. Come on, Ginny," he said. Ginny threw a final smile at Professor Snape, and followed Harry up the stairs. 

Soon, they were standing at he doorway of Dumbledore's study. Harry knocked uncertainly, and Ginny suddenly glimpsed him as a younger boy. The door swung open, and Dumbledore was sitting behind his desk.

"Ah, Harry! Ginny! What a surprise!" he said, his bright blue eyes twinkling. Harry grinned at the professor, sitting down across from him. Ginny perched on the seat next to him, glancing uneasily over at Harry.

"Hello Albus," he said with a smile. "I've just come to discuss my position for the upcoming year. I was hoping that I could have an assistant to help out with grading papers and maybe help me in one of my classes?" Harry suggested.

"I am assuming you are referring to Miss Weasley?" Dumbledore questioned. Harry nodded, throwing a sideways glance at Ginny. "Well, do you both think that she can handle it?"

"I fought with her. I know that she's strong and she has a good Defense background. And, I know that her classes are going to be overwhelming, but I can help her in some of the classes that I took last year. Plus, I know she has a natural flair for some of her classes," Harry replied. Dumbledore nodded, then looked at Ginny.

"I think I can handle it. I mean, I'd want to help Harry, regardless. This just gives me a good reason to actually help him out, you know?" Ginny asked. Dumbledore nodded.

"Of course she may, Harry. And, you can allow her to keep some of her things in your office, and she may have the password to the staff wing," Dumbledore said. "Is there anything else?"

"I was hoping that Ginny could also return the two weeks early to help me prepare for my classes," Harry said.

"That's fine. Are you sure that the Weasleys will approve, however?"

"That's what I was wondering. I can ask, and I doubt they'll have any problems," Ginny said. "Mum trusts Harry more than just about anyone."

"Just owl me with the answer. How have you been doing, Harry?" Dumbledore asked. Harry shrugged, instantly drawing into himself.

"He hasn't," Ginny muttered softly. "Harry, what exactly do you think will happen the second you have a class? What do you think will be the first thing they ask? How did you defeat Voldemort? That's going to be on everyone's mind, and unless you want to act like a total prat the entire time, you've got to deal."

"Well, maybe it's just not that easy, Gin. Do you deal with it? Because I don't think I've heard you say all that much about the final battle, either," Harry said. Ginny sighed, rolling her eyes.

"Do you want me to talk about it? I know that I can. But, can you, Harry?" she asked softly.

"I'm not going to put up with this. I can't take it now, and I'm not going to get into this conversation with you," Harry said quietly.

"Fine."

"Fine."

"How are you two going to work together if you constantly fight?" Dumbledore asked. Harry and Ginny shared a quiet, thoughtful glance.

"We don't. Actually, we've fought more in the past few days than we have since we've met," Ginny said quietly. "We'll work on it. Is that all, Professor?" Ginny asked. Dumbledore nodded, so Harry stood up and looked at Ginny.

"Back to Hogsmeade then?" he asked.

"Yeah. How else will I get home?" she asked.

"You can use the Floo in my office," Dumbledore offered. Ginny grinned over at Harry, before accepting Dumbledore's offer.

"And, Harry, you can use Floo Powder. I do know how much you love it. However, you won't mid going first, will you? I don't really want to get the view that I got last time," Ginny said. Harry groaned, but nodded and threw the Floo Powder into the fireplace. Ginny threw a last grin at Dumbledore, thanking him for allowing her to help Harry out, before hopping into the fireplace.

When she arrive home, she found Hermione, Ron, Harry, and her parents sitting in the living room. Harry grinned at her, before quickly shooting a cleaning spell at her.

"Did you know that they had the fireplaces connected to the Floo Network?" she asked quietly. Harry shrugged, leaning back in his chair.

"I always suspected that it was, but I never knew for certain. I think that only the professors' offices are connected to the Network, though. I guess we should probably mention exactly why we took a trip to Hogwarts, though, shouldn't we?" Harry suggested. Ginny sat next to him, nodding silently. They shared a glance, then Ginny turned to look at her mother.

"I'm going to help Harry in one of his classes, whenever I'm free, basically. Then, I'm allowed to go back with him two weeks early to help him prepare for his classes, if that's okay with you all," Ginny said. Her parents exchanged a look, then turned back to their daughter.

"Give us time to discuss. Dumbledore has agreed, though?" Mrs. Weasley asked.

"Yes. However, I'm supposed to write him to let him know if I can go, though. So, when you decide, I need to write Professor Dumbledore. That's about all, but I'm going to go finish my Potions essay," Ginny said, leaving the room and walking to her room.

The next night, the Burrow was full of laughter and fun. Ginny came down at six thirty, a few minutes before Angelina and Fred Apparated into the house. A few seconds later, two more pops were heard. George sat on the couch, Katie looking nervously about.

"Harry!" Angelina exclaimed. "Fred didn't say that you would be here!" Harry grinned at his former Quidditch teammate, before smiling over at Katie.

"I don't think he knew. How have the two of you been?" he asked, watching as they grinned at one another.

"Not bad. Katie's on a professional team now, did you know?" Angelina asked. Harry smiled widely at her, before looking at Angelina.

"That's great, Katie! What have you been doing, Angelina?" he questioned.

"I'm working at the Three Broomsticks. Rumor down there says that you'll be teaching at Hogwarts," she said.

"Yeah. I'm doing Defense Against the Dark Arts, starting this year. Should be interesting," Harry said. Ginny smiled at the thought of having Harry as a professor, imagining how easy class would be.

"Don't grin, Gin. I'm not going to let your class have it easy," he said. Ginny looked at him with sparkling brown eyes.

"I would never expect that, Harry. I just happen to know that I'm probably just as good at Defense Against the Dark Arts as you are," she said. Harry narrowed his green eyes at her, smiling wickedly.

"Is that so, Gin?" he asked. Ginny shrugged, smirking back at him.

"Come on, Harry, you don't really think that I won't be all right in your class? It should be simple!" Ginny said. "Besides, I'm going to help you prepare for all of your classes, so I'll know what we'll be doing." Harry thought for a moment, shrugging.

"I can just hide my lessons for your class. Do you know who all will be in there?"

"Melia will. Colin may be, he was pretty good last year. Can you imagine! Colin Creevy is bound to fawn around you as a teacher so much more than he would last year. It's going to be hilarious!" Ginny said. Harry shuddered visibly.

"Scary thoughts. Good lord, I hadn't thought about that. What will I do?" he asked. Ginny giggled instantly, not paying attention to the other occupants of the room. Due to this fact, she jumped when one of the twins set off one of their many jokes. A cloud of smoke started filling the living room, and at that point, Percy and Penny arrive.

"What is going on here?" Percy's voice rang out, choked with smoke. Penny was heard quietly coughing, before someone took out their wand and got rid of all the smoke.

"Who did that?" Ginny asked, staring at her brothers with accusing eyes.

"You weren't paying attention to us, Gin-Gin. I figured this was better than mentioning a few events two summers ago," Fred said with an innocent grin.

"Shut up about that. George happened to enlighten me about some of the happenings in the flat, such as a lack of talent in the Charms department. I have to tell George how sorry I am about that," she said with a smirk.

"What the hell did he tell you?" Fred asked with a glare. Ginny simply grinned at him, looking around in an attempt to change the subject.

"Harry, where are Ron and Hermione?" she asked. Harry glanced around the room, then pulled a face.

"I left them alone in Ron's room about an hour ago. Oh, God, if they are still up there . . ." he trailed off.

"Well, Mum will be done with dinner soon, and she'll wonder where they are. Go get them," Ginny ordered.

"No way. I'm not going to interrupt whatever they're doing," Harry said, his eyes wide.

"Well, I'm not about to! I was the one who got an eyeful yesterday. I've been scarred for life. It's your turn."

"Not about to. Sorry, Gin. If you want to protect Ron from your mum, you're doing it." Ginny scowled deeply, looking around.

"I'll do it!" George said with an evil grin. Fred and George shared a look, and then both ran up the stairs at once. Ginny bit her lip, glancing over at Harry. He shared a quick smile with her, before the sounds of the twins running back down the stairs were heard. They were laughing happily, sharing grins with one another.

"What happened?" Harry asked as they ran back into the room. Fred smirked, sitting next to Angelina, and placing his arm around her back.

"Nothing much. We just have some very much needed dirt on our favorite little brother," Fred grinned.

"He's your only little brother," Ginny pointed out dryly. Fred thoughtfully tapped his chin.

"That he is. Well, let's just say that Hermione will be blushing throughout dinner, and Ron will try to kill us later."

"I'm guessing they were a little worse off than when I came home yesterday," Ginny said with a grin. Harry rolled his eyes, laughing at Ginny.

"I can't believe how much pleasure you get out of seeing them embarrassed," Harry told her.

"Well, just remember what I told you to bring up in front of Ron. His face will be five shades of red at once," she said with a smirk.

"Oh, so, we can start asking when Hermione will be an official part of the family?" George asked with a grin.

"I wouldn't suggest Fred asking that," Ginny said, looking at him. "You know that he'll fire back, wondering when Angelina will be a Weasley." Fred laughed uncomfortably, looking at Angelina. She was slightly blushing, not looking at any of them.

"Oooh, do you have an answer?" Ginny asked with hardly repressed glee. Fred shifted and glanced over at Angelina, who simply shrugged. 

"Yes, okay, we do. But, I wanted to tell everyone at dinner, okay?" Fred asked. Ginny smiled and jumped up to hug Angelina.

"You have to give me details," she said with a grin.

"Of course. Girls' night later? I was thinking that you, Katie, Hermione, Penny, and I could all go back to my house and have a nice little chat. What do you say?" she asked, grinning widely at her friend.

"Yes! That would be so awesome! And, you guys could all hang out, and do whatever you guys do," Ginny said, looking at the males in the room. "Oh, Penny, are you in?"

"Yes! How long has it been since I've had girl talk? That sounds so great! And, Hermione will agree, won't she?" she asked anxiously.

"What will I be agreeing to?" Hermione asked, coming down the stairs and brushing her hair behind her ear. Ginny grinned at her, before glancing at Angelina.

"Do you want to come over to Angelina's house with us tonight, and do the girl talk thing?" Ginny asked.

"Sure. Sounds like fun. You don't think your mum will mind if we go, do you?" Hermione asked. Ginny rolled her eyes, dismissing the thought.

"You should have to worry, Hermione. You're the legal one. I still have a year of school left," Ginny said with a grimace. The girls smiled at her, before sharing a look.

"I'll go talk to Molly for you if you'd like," Angelina offered. Ginny shrugged, grinning at the older girl. They all started making plans for what they would do later the evening when Ron finally joined them. He scowled in the direction of the twins, before greeting the other people who were in the house.

"Is everyone here? No, dear, where is Charlie? He said he would make it tonight . . . And, where is Arthur?" Mrs. Weasley asked searching around the living room. A few moments later, two pops were heard and Charlie and Mr. Weasley had Apparated into the living room.

"Hey guys!" Charlie said, stopping to hug his mother, then engulfing Ginny in a huge hug. She giggled, wrapping her arms around her older brother. 

"Charlie! Why haven't you come to see us earlier?" Ginny asked, frowning slightly at her older brother.

"There have been reasons," he said, kissing her nose with a grin. "I'll be around a lot more now, though. I'll be working for the Ministry, and they are incidentally placing me at Hogwarts. You aren't getting rid of me quite that easily." Ginny grinned at him.

"All right, everyone. Dinner is ready, so perhaps we should eat," Mrs. Weasley said. Slowly, all of the kids in the room headed to the kitchen and sat around the rather large table.

The table was full of laughter and conversations, before Fred nervously cleared his throat. Ginny grinned wickedly, watching him with amusement. Fred was always confident, and the fact that he was showing a hint of nervousness made Ginny laugh.

"Um, Mum, Dad," he began. He waited until the table was silent, and his parents were giving him their full attention before continuing. "Er, Angelina and I are going to get married . . ." he trailed off. Molly Weasley's face broke into an ecstatic grin, before she jumped up to pull Fred and Angelina into bone-crushing hugs.

"Oh, dear! This is just so wonderful. Now, Charlie, George, why can't the two of you become serious? At least Ron's had Hermione around for years now," Molly said. Ron's face burned red, and Hermione choked on her bite of broccoli. 

"Mum, I will decide who I date and when. I'm only 25 years old. I don't have to be serious yet," Charlie said while taking a drink of his pumpkin juice. Molly frowned at him, but started eating her dinner as well.

"Oh, Mum, Hermione and I are going to be spending the night over at Angelina's tonight. Girl talk and all," Ginny said. Molly looked up at her, then nodded.

"All right, dear. What time will you be back tomorrow? You'll be going back to Hogwarts in two weeks, and I'm sure there a few things that you'll need to get finished around here."

"There's not really much except for a few essays. I'm not sure what time I'll be back, though." Molly nodded at her.

"Why are you going to Hogwarts so early, Gin?" Charlie asked interestedly. Ginny ran a hand through her hair, twisting a strand around her finger. 

"I'm helping Harry out in his position. I'm going to be an assistant to him. Hey, Mum, does that mean I can go back early? Because that would mean that I have to owl Dumbledore and Melia."

"You'd have to tell Melia that she'll have to sit with Colin, right?" Harry asked.

"The poor girl," Ginny said. Harry grinned at her, then smirked.

"But, weren't the two of you the official starters of my fan club in your first year?" he teased. Ginny rolled her eyes heavenward, before taking another bit of her dinner. 

"That was the worst year of my life. Remind me, Harry, what did I see in you? Overgrown ego, perhaps? I don't know, thank goodness that was six years ago," she said.

"Hey! I've never had an ego. Besides, who could blame you? But, hey, you don't think Colin is gay, do you? That could really work against me teaching him," Harry said, wrinkling his nose.

"I don't think Colin is gay," Ginny said, sighing in exasperation. "Colin had a crush on Maureen Collier last year, but Maureen liked Malfoy, who was still with Pansy, who secretly liked Goyle. It was quite amusing," Ginny said.

"And, Gin, how do you keep up with all of the gossip at Hogwarts?" Charlie asked. Ginny grinned.

"Well, I have connections, let's leave it at that," Ginny said.

"Oh, you're talking about Denise Calvin in Slytherin, right? The girl that had the crush on Harry, that told you all of the gossip just so she could sit next to him?" Hermione asked.

"Wait—A Slytherin had a crush on me?" Harry asked.

"Several actually," Ginny replied, grinning cheekily. "Denise told me. Actually, I think she liked you more than the rest of them did, although I did hear that Pansy had a bit of a crush on you in your fifth year." Hermione and Ginny shared a quick grin, before breaking into giggles.

"There is absolutely nothing funny about that dog liking me," Harry said.

"Oh, no, of course not," Ginny agreed, giggling harder.

"The funny thing was Malfoy's response, actually. Something about turning you into that ferret that he always was. Quite possessive over his little girlfriends, he was," Hermione said with a grin.

"Hey, we really shouldn't be making fun of him. He is dead," Ginny pointed out.

"He would have made fun of us if it were the other way around," Ron pointed out. Ginny and Hermione glared at him.

"We are better than he ever was," Hermione said patiently. "Now, be nice!" Ginny started giggling at the ashamed look on Ron's face, before looking at Angelina.

"So, what time do you think I'll get back? Unless we could also do some History of Magic? I took my NEWTs in the class last year, but I still have to do the essay," Ginny said with a groan.

"Why? That doesn't make much sense," Katie said with a frown.

"Because I should be aware of all the happenings in the History of Magic course, and just because I took the test last year, doesn't mean that I should get out of an essay. Thank God Poppy didn't give me an essay," Ginny said.

"Why didn't Madam Pomfrey give you an essay?" Hermione questioned quietly. Ginny chanced a glance at Harry, afraid of his reaction to what she would say.

"She felt that I proved my understanding of what I had learned quite sufficiently on the last day of school," Ginny mumbled. She was watching Harry out of the corner of her eye, and she noticed the slight cloudiness fog them yet again.

"I suppose you did," Ron said, grinning at his little sister.

"Are you ever going to talk about it?" Molly asked.

"You lied, Gin," Harry murmured. "You said you could talk about it."

"I can talk about it, Harry. I just don't. Fine, I've told you before, I don't mind if we have the conversation. You all want to know what happened? Let's talk. Now," Ginny said.

"May I be excused?" Harry asked, before throwing his fork down and leaving the table. Ginny sighed, putting her head in her hands, before also standing up.

"Excuse me," she said, before walking after Harry.

"So, how long have they been like this?" Charlie asked.

"Too long," was the answer from Ron and Hermione.


	3. Chapter 3

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A/N: Sorry about the long wait. I'm not sure what I've said about disclaimers in previous chapters, but I definitely don't own this. Thanks to Erin for criticizing everything for me, and please review!

Chapter Three

Later that evening, Ginny found herself in the home of Angelina Johnson. She was sitting stiffly on a couch, watching the other girls talk and laugh. She noticed them giving her looks every once and a while, but she never acknowledged them.

"Gin, come on," Hermione finally said. "You've been sitting there all night. You could at least tell us what happened if you're going to be so unhappy all night." Ginny scowled fiercely, crossing her arms across her chest.

"Harry and I had a fight," she said. "Well, you all know that. You were present. Anyway, he's just being an idiot and trying to forget about what happened this summer, and he gets all closed off and turns into a prat when anyone mentions Voldemort, the war, or my talent in the area of Magical Healing. So, tonight at dinner, he just got worse than usual. Out of curiosity, what do you think will be the first thing anyone asks him when he gets to Hogwarts? Mainly any of his students?"

"How he defeated Voldemort," Hermione said, realization dawning on her face. Angelina frowned, looking at Ginny.

"So, you're trying to find out why he hasn't felt like sharing. Ginny, maybe he just isn't ready to talk yet."

"Maybe he should, though. I mean, Gin's right. He's going to be bombarded with questions as soon as he gets back to Hogwarts," Penny pointed out.

"And, I think I'm the only one who can really get him to start talking. No offense, Hermione. You and Ron are his best friends, but I think we've all kind of separated. You three will always be great together, but it's a lot harder to talk to the two of you now. I think Harry's really confused at exactly how things have been between the two of you, anyway. I mean, you guys had barely been acknowledging that you cared for one another, but now you two are snogging all over the place," Ginny pointed out. Hermione smirked.

"Yes, we are. It's very nice," she said with a grin. Ginny groaned.

"Okay, now that I'm done complaining . . . Angelina, I want details. How did Fred propose to you?" 

"Well, it was last night, actually. We went out to eat dinner, and he just asked me. It wasn't terribly romantic, but I saw it coming. He would either ask me to marry him or break up with me, and with the way things were going, breaking up just wasn't an option," Angelina said. Ginny giggled.

"That's great. So . . ."

"Gin, it may be touchy, but what is with you and Harry? I mean, besides the fights? You two have this kind of . . . thing, with one another," Katie said.

"Basically nothing. I mean, I always wanted to date Harry. Now, he's just my best friend. And, yeah, we fight, but I'm a Weasley, I'm supposed to fight. I think Harry and I are just tuned in to one another due to all the time we spent together at Hogwarts. So, we get along and I guess understand one another better than most other people," Ginny said. "We just get angry at each other a lot."

"So, basically, you're dating without any of the benefits?" Katie asked with a giggle. Angelina laughed harder at that, but Ginny turned red.

"Hardly. Besides, could you imagine what would happen if Harry and I were to start dating? Ron would kill him, and I'm going to be his student next year. Plus, that's just sort of strange, isn't it?" Ginny asked. "Anyway, can we talk about something other than Harry?" she sounded rather hopeful.

"Well . . . come on! Let's discuss the Weasleys!" Angelina said.

"Oh, God! First Harry and now my brothers! I'm leaving, now," she said.

"Come on, Gin! You want to stay! We can plan Fred and my wedding!" Angelina said. "Katie, you'll be my maid of honor, right?" she asked. Katie nodded enthusiastically. "And, Ginny, you'll be a bridesmaid?"

"Yes! Of course! I suppose you'll try to get in touch with Alicia, as well?" Ginny questioned. Angelina smiled, nodding at Ginny.

"Of course. And, then, who all to invite! When, where? And, how to keep George from setting off all of the stupid tricks that they have," Angelina said.

"Tell Mum that you're worried about it. She'll make sure that he doesn't do anything," Ginny assured her. "Besides, if George ever settles down and gets married, I don't want to even think about what sort of pranks would be played. Penny, you and Percy got lucky that nothing happened at your wedding. I know for a fact that they had some plans, but I think Mum found out about them," Ginny said. Penny rolled her eyes.

"Don't tell Percy. I love him, I really do, it's just he'll have a fit, even if the wedding was a year and a half ago," she said. "You know he'll start lecturing them about this and that, maybe throw in some things about cauldron bottoms for good measure." Everyone giggled at Penny, before settling down on the couches.

"So, what do you say we make this an official sleepover?" Angelina asked. Ginny raised her eyebrow slowly, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Angelina, are you suggesting makeovers?" she asked. Angelina grinned, looking pointedly at Penny and Hermione. They both turned pale.

"I say we do Gin's homework," Hermione said. Katie, Angelina, and Ginny all shared identical grins, before closing in on the two girls.

The next day, Ginny and Hermione returned to the Burrow. Hermione's hair was still streaked with blue and blond, which Angelina had streaked the night before. She was still faintly scowling; Ginny guessed because she had been forced into something that Lavender Brown would wear.

"Hello girls!" Molly Weasley said cheerfully as Hermione and Ginny walked from the living room to the kitchen. Hermione was still glaring at Ginny as she sat down to start eating her breakfast.

"Hermione! What happened to you?" Ron shouted as he walked into the living room. Hermione just glared more fiercely at Ginny, until Harry came in. Harry started laughing, then shifted his glance to Ginny. His laughter died abruptly.

"Morning," he acknowledged.

"Good morning," Ginny murmured, yawning as she took a sip of orange juice.

"Did you have fun last night?" Ron teased, grinning at Hermione. Hermione rolled her eyes, and started eating her breakfast.

"Shall I change it back now?" Ginny asked, looking at Hermione.

"But they said that I had to wait until it faded naturally," Hermione said. Ginny giggled.

"And you should have seen your face when we told you that. I personally think that Penny's are better, simply because she had to sport Gryffindor colors. Angelina used the temporary spell. She just didn't want you to take it out before Ron and Harry saw, figured that it would amuse them," Ginny said, before pulling out her wand. She pointed it at Hermione's head a whispered a few well-chosen words, and Hermione's hair was back to its curly, light brown state.

"Thank the gods," Hermione whispered. Ginny grinned impishly at her, before turning to survey the boys.

"Have either of you heard from Alicia Spinnet?" she asked. They both shook their heads, sitting down to eat their breakfast.

"Angelina's going to have a time trying to get in touch with her," Hermione pointed out.

"Of course she is. Angelina will have time, though. She figures she'll get Fred to help," Ginny said. Both girls started giggling at that, before Harry looked up at Ginny.

"Gin, how much of your homework do you have left?"

"One more essay, Defense Against the Dark Arts actually," she said. Harry grinned at that.

"You'll have a time writing that one, I'm sure," he said. Ginny shrugged uncomfortably. 

"It's mainly about detecting dark arts artifacts, and some of the things that can happen due to them," Ginny murmured.

"Well, I think that we need to talk," Harry said. "So, can we go talk now?" he asked. Ginny nodded, leaving her unfinished breakfast at the table. She looked at Harry, who led them out of the house and to the backyard. He slowly walked to a large tree, and they sat underneath it.

"Yes?" she asked, looking at him.

"Look, I'm sorry I'm being so rude to you, and I know that you're just trying to help. I'm going to try to be honest, it's just that day is so hard to relive."

"I know, Harry. I have to relive it every now and then too," Ginny said. Harry turned his anguished green eyes to her.

"But you didn't kill anyone, Gin. And, you didn't use an unforgivable curse," he said, his voice cracking. Ginny reached down to take his hand and softly began to smooth it with her own.

"Well, Harry, maybe you should start at the beginning. I'll listen, and I won't judge you," she whispered.

"You know how it started, Gin. It was a gorgeous day, we had gotten our NEWTs results, and everything was going well. Then, my scar began to burn. I knew at that instant that he was coming, Gin. That's why I had to get away from you. When it happened, I had to get as far away from you and Hermione and Ron as possible. 

"So, I ran away from the battle, away from the confusion, and doubled back towards the end of the lines. I knew that was where Voldemort would be. He didn't want to be the first, as much as he thought he was amazing, he liked to let his followers take care of the majority of it. And, finally, I found some of the inner Death Eaters surrounding what could only be their master.

"I recognized just the one, Lucius Malfoy. As soon as I got close to them, Voldemort allowed them to attack me. I guess he decided after I had managed to get away from him when it was one on one, he'd allow four of his most trusted Death Eaters to torture me, first. They were doing it pretty well. 

"I had all sorts of curses, hexes, and jinxes thrown at me, and I just endured it. I was firing curses right back, but when they started getting worse, I grew desperate. I didn't want to use the Unforgivable Curses, but I did. I used the Cruciatus Curse on one of them, Stupefy on two of the others. I was left fighting Lucius Malfoy, and then I realized it. Either he would die, or I would And, I couldn't, Gin. I just couldn't . Who else would have gone against Voldemort?

"So I killed him. And, I still dream about it. That flash of green light, and I still hear the laughter. Voldemort actually laughed when I killed Lucius Malfoy. And, then, before he could even lift his wand, I used the spell that you and Hermione thought up. And, all that was left was his robe. And, it slowly disintegrated. 

"I made my way back to the castle. I felt that you all would be so ashamed if you knew what I did, so I couldn't tell you. I couldn't deal with myself, either. I knew that I wasn't ready to be praised for killing a Death Eater, and then destroying Voldemort. Sure, it made everyone's life better, but I killed him, Gin," he said, sounding ready to cry.

"Harry, it's okay. It was you or Malfoy, and I think anyone would understand that. Look at me, Harry. Your actions were understandable, but his weren't."

"What did you do, Ginny?"

"I took on the Death Eaters, but I didn't spend that much time actually fighting. I spent more time trying to save people. I had at least five people die in my presence. They weren't using the Killing Curse most of the time. They were using small tortures, and horrible Cruciatus. Jill, one of my friends, died while I was trying to save her. I had to put a sleeping spell on someone who was suffering so horribly that he would die, and if I didn't put him to sleep, he would have suffered terrible agony the entire time." Harry wrapped his arm around her, pulling her closer to him.

"Think I'm done dealing yet?" he whispered. She shook her head, sniffling.

"I think you've taken a huge step. But, you can't tell everyone that that was how you defeated Voldemort. What do you plan on telling them?" Ginny asked.

"I'm thinking that I'll tell them that two of my best friends came up with the key, and I used it," Harry said. "I don't have to go into details."

"No. You don't. Are you sure that you'll be okay?" Ginny asked. Harry nodded, slowly standing up. He gave Ginny a hand up, then looked at her critically.

"Are you going to be all right writing about Dark Artifacts? Because all I can think of is that diary your first year," Harry said. Ginny nodded, biting her lip nervously.

"I think I'll be all right. Thanks, though," she said with a smile, before walking with him back to the kitchen. "I'll be in my room if anyone needs me," she told them, heading up the stairs slowly.

__

Dear Diary,

I'm finally back at Hogwarts, two weeks early. Melia was slightly upset that I wouldn't be on the train with her. However, she doesn't mind riding with Colin. She seems to think that it will give her time to get used to the rest of the Gryffindors.

Harry is becoming more open about every thing that happened the last day of school last year, but he still closes off some of the time. It's really weird for him to be sitting and talking about student matters (and I'm still there, although I'm not supposed to be), and then he'll close off when someone mentions the fact that there will be a Ministry Official at the school. It may be Charlie, but Harry still gets strange. He tries not to mention anything to do with Voldemort, and that makes him seem all the more different. Almost everyone has something to say about last year.

Sirius has been there a lot, I think trying to make up for the 12 years he was in prison. He's been almost unbearable, watching over us all the time. Of course, right now I'm staying in the staff wing in a room next to Harry. I think that I'm quite lucky that Charlie isn't here yet, he would have kittens.

I don't know what Sirius thinks Harry and I will do, it's quite obvious that we are just friends! I mean, he's going to be my professor! Of course, it has been a while since Sirius has seen Harry and I together. The last time he saw us for a sustained amount of time in the presence of one another was probably the beginning of my fifth year, and I was still quite shy. Now I don't have very many reservations around Harry at all.

Beth Warren has also been hanging around a little more than necessary. I don't really know her that well, but she seems quite nice. I'm prepared to say that Sirius likes her, but I'm not positive on that front. I mean, Professor Warren is beautiful, but she's rather strict. Perhaps they were trying to find a professor who could fill Professor McGonagall's shoes? 

Well, I better go. Dinner is ready, and the last thing I need is someone barging into my room to say that I'm late.

Love,

Ginny

Ginny put her diary away, and then walked out of her rooms. Harry was leaning casually against the doorframe, waiting for her to join him. He grinned as she walked over to him, but stayed where he was.

"I'm waiting for Sirius as well," he said. She nodded, leaning against the wall next to him. "So, Ginny, do you want the Marauder's Map? I've been thinking about it, and I haven't any use for it any longer. I'm sure you can decide a way to use it," Harry said.

"Harry, you're a professor. Imagine all the detentions you could give by checking to see if any students were out of bed," Ginny said, grinning impishly. "Besides, if one overheard our conversation, one may think that you were giving me permission to sneak out at night, or sneak to Hogsmeade." Harry rolled his eyes at her.

"I thought I would leave the majority of the detentions for Severus," he said, choking on the Potions master's given name. "Or Beth," he added thoughtfully. "Reminds me a bit of McGonagall actually. Seems like they were trying to fill her shoes." Ginny giggled at the thought of her words in Harry's mouth. 

"Good evening! Harry, Ginny, how are you tonight?" Sirius asked, grinning widely at the couple. Harry raised his eyebrows, looking at his godfather.

"Sirius, you seem awfully . . . jovial tonight. What's up?" Harry asked. Sirius grinned wickedly, telling them they would find out at dinner that night. Ginny and Harry shared a worried look before hurrying after the tall man and walking to the Great Hall.

"Good evening!" Dumbledore greeted them as they entered the room. Ginny sat next to Harry as she looked around suspiciously for whatever Sirius had planned. She was quite worried; she had stories of his times at Hogwarts. After all, he, Harry's Dad, Professor Lupin, and Wormtail (and she shuddered to think of him, even if he was dead) were the pranksters that her twin brothers looked up to.

"So, what do you think Sirius has done this time?" she asked in an undertone. Harry shrugged.

"My guess it's either Beth or Severus. You know that he and Severus never got along, and he loves to infuriate Beth for some reason," Harry whispered back. "So, we'll find a very irate professor soon." Ginny smirked as Snape and Beth walked into the room at the same time, Snape walking briskly with his robes billowing around his legs, and Beth strolling casually in, freeing her hair of the restrictive bun it was in.

Beth was rather pretty, Ginny noted. She had long, shiny, dark brown hair and a pale face, with a slight sprinkling of freckles over her straight nose. She had a delicate heart shaped face and twinkling blue eyes.

"Hello, all," she said, sitting next to Professor Sinistra, and glancing over at Sirius. She glared at him momentarily, before giggling at his look of surprise.

"Watch out, Black. You thought you're little prank would get me, didn't you? I'm on to you, and if you ever enchant any of my personal items . . . I would like to remind you that I'm the Charms Professor, keep that in mind," she said, wickedly smiling.

"What exactly did you do, Sirius?" Harry asked. Sirius grinned at him, then nodded at Snape.

"Watch Snape," he whispered. "The effects of the Charm should hit him right now, but I had a slightly different spin on Beth's." Harry nodded, nudging Ginny slightly and nodding at Snape. Her brown eyes focused on the man as he slowly changed in front of them. His hair was becoming a greasy red, gold sprinkles scattered throughout. His skin was slowly changing from the pallid white to where half was the vivid scarlet and the other was glittering gold. Ginny giggled, biting her lip and looking at Sirius.

"That's very wrong, Sirius," she murmured to her future teacher. He grinned at her, and she scrunched up her nose. "I mean, imagine if he did that to you, only in Slytherin colors. It would be quite funny for the first day of school," she said.

"Don't even think about suggesting that," Sirius growled. "I might have to get you back in a rather interesting way, and I'm sure your brothers wouldn't mind helping," he said. Ginny giggled.

"Yeah, and Charlie will be arriving any time now. Harry, did you catch when he would be coming? I keep forgetting, I thought he was supposed to get here yesterday, when we did," Ginny said.

"I thought he was getting her two days before the students. I'm not sure," he said, frowning. Ginny frowned back, then started smiling again.

"What are you planning on doing for your first lesson for my class?" Ginny asked. Harry rolled his eyes at her.

"I plan on evaluating all of the people who signed up for Advanced Defense Against the Dark Arts. If you get in, you better be pretty damn talented," Harry said. "I know you are, Gin. Like I told you this summer, I've fought with you. It's just that I don't know about all of the others. Tomorrow I'm getting a list of everyone in the classes, and you can tell me what to expect," he said.

"Well, I can tell you now there won't be more than fifteen seventh years from all of the houses in the class. There weren't that many last year, and some of them got killed last year," she said. The now familiar clouding of green eyes happened, and Ginny frowned at him.

"Harry," she said in a warning tone. "Don't you dare close off on me," she hissed. Harry didn't look at her, just ran a hand through unruly jet-black hair. She did notice that he didn't appear quite as far away as he had been moments previous.

"You know I'm trying, Gin," he whispered, before glancing down at her. "I'm working on it. So, anyway, what can you do, Miss Weasley?"

"You know full well what I can do, Potter. Oh, Harry! I'm going to have to call you Professor Potter!" she said, frowning slightly. "And, you'll be Professor Black!" she said, pointing at Sirius.

"She's quite quick, isn't she?" Harry asked Sirius, patting Ginny's head slightly. "And I wondered why you weren't Head Girl." At that he shook his head in mock shame. "Gin, if you call me anything but Harry, I may become angry. I can't imagine wanting all that many people calling me Professor Potter. Besides, you'll be my assistant, in both your class, and the one during your free periods. Of course, I'll let you work on some homework during that time," Harry said with a grin.

"You won't assign to much, will you? Surely you remember last year, how stressed you were?"

"Yes, but I also recall meetings with Albus every day, you and Hermione doing tons of research, trying to organize Quidditch, and fighting Death Eaters. Adding all of that to the mountains of homework we got, and yes, it was a bit daunting. But, Ginny, what do you have? Social events, balls, prefect duties? You'll get more homework than any of your other professors even thought about giving," he said wickedly.

"It's a bit strange, thinking about how much has changed. I guess I will feel as though I have plenty of free time, and maybe I won't be up until three in the morning trying to finish it all up. And I expect that you won't be waking half of the common room up in the middle of the night because of your scar?" she asked, teasing. Harry pretended to be angry, then grinned at her.

"That's okay, I'll just randomly send you owls in the middle of the night," he said with a grin. Ginny stuck her tongue out at him, before starting to eat the dinner that had appeared in front of her.

"Wow, this is the last year that I'm here!" she said, frowning slightly. Harry laughed at her.

"Good job, Ginny! So observant, this one is! What am I thinking asking you to help me out in class?" he asked.

"You know that I'm just the most amazing witch you've ever met. What would you do without me, Harry?" she teased.

"Good question. What would I do without you?" he repeated, smiling down at her.


	4. Chapter 4

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A/N: Thanks for all the reviews! Thanks to Erin for putting up with me and all my complaints. I hope you enjoy, and please review. Oh, yeah, and I don't own any of this stuff; it's all J. K. Rowling's material.

Chapter Four

Ginny rolled over in her bed, wincing at the sunlight that was streaming in the window. She frowned, trying to clear her head as she picked her wand up and pointed it at the window, murmuring a spell to shut the curtains. She then promptly turned back over and burrowed her head under the pillows.

"Ginny! Get your lazy bum up! We need to go over some last minute plans!" she heard Harry call from outside the room. She ignored him, pulling the covers farther up. She was just falling back to sleep when someone stepped into her room and picked her up.

"Leave me 'lone," Ginny mumbled under the cover of her remaining pillow. She heard snickering, but didn't open her eyes. She then started gasping as someone began to tickle her. She protested, beating him on the arms, before finally opening her eyes.

"Charlie, what the hell do you think you're doing?" she asked, frowning at him. Charlie laughed, setting her on her bed.

"Harry's right. You need to help him go over his plans because school starts tomorrow. Well, classes start, at least. Everyone's getting here tonight," Charlie said.

"Oh! I had forgotten. That means I'm going to have to sit with the Gryffindors again, doesn't it? I'll miss talking to Harry, Sirius, Beth, and you during dinner. Besides, calling Sirius and Beth Professor?" she asked, rolling her eyes.

"Yes, I know. You'll slip up and everyone will stare. Come on, breakfast is being served in ten minutes, think you can be ready? Harry's waiting," Charlie reminded her.

"Tell Harry to go to his rooms, and I'll be there in a few minutes. I need to talk to Dumbledore to find out if the house-elves are going to move my things to my dormitory," Ginny said thoughtfully.

"I'm sure they will. Now, will you please get ready? I'll go talk to Harry for you, though," Charlie said. Ginny grinned at him, blowing him a quick kiss and jumping up. Knowing that she had few minutes to get to breakfast, she pulled her hair into a quick ponytail, then put on a pair of black pants and a vivid red shirt. She then put on her sandals and ran to the next room, murmuring Harry's password. She walked in to find him nervously looking through the book that the first years would be using.

"Hey," she said, looking down at him. "Not nervous, are you?"

"Very much so. Gin, what if I'm horrible?" he asked. She frowned at him and held her hand out to help him up. He accepted it and was pulled to his feet and led out of the door.

"Harry, you'll be brilliant. You always are, aren't you? What's the worst that could happen?" she asked practically.

"Everyone could fail everything, and you could fail your NEWTs," Harry said. Ginny frowned as they entered the Great Hall, sitting down at her place beside Harry.

"Look, that's not going to happen. You'll teach the first years how to disarm, how to do small spells, all that stuff. Second and third years will deal with small dark creatures. Fourth and fifth years will do the Unforgivable Curses, and dementors. The sixth and seventh years will be given a pop quiz to see what they know, and they will also be asked to duel one another and conjure a Protonus. It's not that bad, Harry," Ginny assured him.

"Why am I so worried, then?" he hissed, taking a vicious bite out of his toast. Ginny giggled at him, shaking her head sadly.

"You care about what people think, and you think that they'll have preconceived notions of you, particularly the first years. The Great Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived, will be teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts at Hogwarts. Plus, the fact that the two greatest wizards of this century are in the school at one time is just amazing," Ginny said with a grin.

"Shut up, Gin," Harry said, flushing uneasily. "Anyway, are you sure I'll be fine?"

"Harry, stop worrying so much. Come on, it's a nice day, what do we have to do?" Ginny asked, looking at the enchanted ceiling.

"We have to make a few minor preparations, and go over a few things in a staff meeting," Sirius interrupted as he sat next to Harry. Ginny's face darkened at that, frowning slightly.

"Sorry, Gin. Why don't you go down to Hogsmeade today? Sirius, Charlie, and I can join you after the staff meeting," Harry said. Ginny nodded, still looking vaguely unhappy.

"What am I going to do in Hogsmeade for that long? Especially alone?" she whined. Harry grinned at her, as Charlie sat next to her.

"Hmm, I always checked out the Quidditch store. Ginny, you'll find something. Girls can shop for hours."

"Correction, girls can shop for hours if there is another girl to shop with. Do you know how boring it is to wander aimlessly around? I mean, I've got plenty of books, and well, I could go to Honeydukes," she said, brightening slightly.

"And, we'll find you at the end of the staff meeting, and then we'll drag you to the Quidditch shop," Harry said with a grin. Ginny groaned as she started eating her breakfast.

"Well, you all have plenty of fun," she said, standing. "I think I'm going to go back to my room and get a little more put together than this." She glanced down at her clothing, then back at the men she was sitting with. "Have fun at the staff meeting." With that said, she kissed Charlie on the cheek and started out of the room.

"She's strange," Charlie said, shaking his head slightly. Harry grinned, watching her walk out of the room. Ginny walked to her room and took a quick shower, then dried her hair and applied light make-up. She walked slowly down to Hogsmeade, wandering listlessly around.

She finally noticed a small shop towards one end of the town. She slowly walked in, glancing around. It was a shop that was full of jewelry and trinkets, almost entirely silver and gold. She smiled as she examined a white gold ring with a light blue sapphire in the middle. Next to it was a matching necklace and earrings. She grinned softly, and continued looking around the shop.

"May I help you?" a soft voice from behind her asked. Ginny turned around quickly, looking for the distinctively male voice. A boy, looking to be her age, was standing behind her with dark blond hair and sea blue eyes.

"I'm just looking, thanks," she said, scanning him and biting her lips.

"You're Ginny Weasley, right?" he asked. Ginny nodded, crossing her arms below her breasts and narrowing her eyes at him. She knew that she could recognize him, but his name wasn't anywhere in her mind.

"Yes. I've seen you before, I just can't place you," she said.

"Jake Tapp. I'm a Slytherin, same year as you. I fought with you last year," he said. Then it clicked, and Ginny smiled, glancing up at him.

"How are you doing? You're the one that got that nasty hex up the side of your arm, right? Deep gash, that was. Let me check it out," Ginny said, crossing the room quickly to look at his arm. Jake frowned, pushing the sleeve of his robe up to reveal a thin, silver line running from his elbow to his shoulder.

"I'm fine. It hardly hurts at all anymore," he said, pressing it softly. Ginny glared up at him, before pulling her wand out and waving it over his arm quickly. It glowed a light red, and she swore softly under her breath.

"Have you even seen a medi-witch?" she asked, looking at him with a second glare.

"Should I have? I had assumed that you had taken care of it," he said cautiously. Ginny rolled her eyes heavenward and bit her lip thoughtfully. She knew that it would have been nice to have Poppy's help, but she knew that she could handle it.

"All right, I am usually fine at noticing things like this, but I was quite busy that night. Forgive me for my mix-up," she said. "Now, this may hurt a bit." With that, she waved her wand over his wounded arm and it split open, albeit with much less pain than Jake felt when the Death Eater ripped it open. She glanced into the flesh underneath, carefully scanning for the telltale signs of a curse on one of the muscles. Almost immediately finding it, she stuck her wand as close to it as she could get it and whispered an incantation. Anyone watching would have seen a pearly tear-shaped thing float from Ginny's wand onto Jake's muscle, before the muscle was quickly reformed. She then sealed Jake's arm, and stepped back.

"Well, since you fixed my arm, I'm obligated to buy you a butterbeer," he said.

"Don't you have to watch over the store?" Ginny asked, raising a delicate eyebrow.

"It's my mum's shop, but she's still asleep. I'm just going to tell her that I have to pick up some last minute school things, she'll barely notice that I'm gone," he said, running up the stairs quickly. Ginny grinned after him, examining the jewelry that was next to her as he hurried up an unnoticed flight of stairs in the corner of the room.

She idly touched a silver heart locket, before leaning against a wall of the dark room. The walls were wood, and the floor was a light beige color. There were many display cases around the room, the stones grouped with others that had the same magical properties. Ginny realized that was why she was attracted to the sapphire set earlier; it was a stone known for its healing powers.

"All right, let's go. Do you want to go straight to the Three Broomsticks?" Jake asked, coming back down the stairs. Ginny nodded, grinning at him as they started to walk out of the shop. They strolled down the quaint streets of Hogsmeade, Ginny barely noticing her surroundings as she talked with Jake.

"So, why exactly are you in Hogsmeade instead of taking the Hogwarts Express like everyone else?" Jake asked as they found an empty table in the Three Broomsticks.

"Oh, Harry is the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, and he and I are very good friends. I'm going to help him out in a few classes, and I was allowed to stay at Hogwarts while he prepared for the start of term. And, my older brother has business to take care of there, also."

"Harry? Harry Potter?" Jake asked skeptically. Ginny nodded, smiling. "Is Potter up to it? I mean, I've heard good things about him, and I know that he finally defeated Voldemort last year, but is he really that well-versed in Defense Against the Dark Arts?" 

"He's pretty good at it. I worked closely with him last year, and he's wonderful with all of that stuff. Trust me, he's been stressing over this all summer, practically. I think he'll be brilliant. But, aren't you supposed to hate him by default? You are a Slytherin," Ginny pointed out.

"Well, yes, but I'm also supposed to hate all Gryffindors. I don't really fit into all that Slytherin stuff. I'm one who was put there purely for my ambition. I have friends there, but I'm not one of those who hate people because of their heritage, or for defeating Voldemort. And, I'm one of the few people who can call him Voldemort," he said.

"Yeah, yeah. Well, I call him Voldemort too. But, it really pissed him off if we called him Tom," Ginny said.

"Why would you call him Tom?" Jake asked, mystified.

"It's his real name. There's a lot of stuff that let us find out that information. I'd rather not talk about it," Ginny said, taking a sip of the butterbeer that had been placed in front of her. Jake raised an eyebrow and glanced at his watch. 

"Wow, it's already twelve," he said. "Would you like some lunch?" Ginny grinned and nodded. Jake waved Madam Rosmerta over, and they quickly ordered their meals. She left with a smile, promising the food would shortly be over.

"So, if you've been hanging out with Potter all summer, why are you here alone?" Jake curiously asked.

"Oh, Harry, Sirius, and Charlie had to go to a staff meeting. They promised me they'd meet me here as soon as the meeting was over. They want to drag me into a Quidditch shop. You see, Harry and Charlie are both great Seekers, and are completely obsessed with Quidditch. I'm surprised neither of them went into professional Quidditch. Both easily could have, you know. Charlie was actually approached by England, and I'm sure that Harry got some offers, although he hasn't told us. Anyway, I can watch the Quidditch games, I'm just not overly into the game, and I'm the only one in my family who doesn't play, with the exception of Percy. Actually, all of them except for Percy, Bill, and I were on the team. Bill loves Quidditch, he just never played," Ginny quickly explained.

"I'm quite fond of Quidditch, but I can't really play that well. I've tried, mind you, I just can't do it. I think Potter is searching for you now," Jake said, glancing at the main doors. Ginny turned around, and Harry was scanning the inside of the Three Broomsticks, looking for the bright red Weasley hair. Finally catching sight of her, he waved Sirius and Charlie to follow him and strolled to the table.

"Hey Gin. Mind if we join you?" Charlie asked, looking from his sister to the boy sitting with her. Ginny grinned at him.

"Please do. Jake, this is my brother Charlie, this is Harry Potter, and that's Sirius Black. Guys, this is Jake Tapp, my year, Slytherin," she said. Charlie choked on the drink of butterbeer he was taking from Ginny's cup when she said this.

"Slytherin?" he repeated weakly.

"A good Slytherin," Ginny amended, smirking at her brother. "He fought with us last year, don't get any horrid ideas, Charlie. I fixed his arm," she said.

"How badly did you screw up?" Charlie asked in a teasing voice.

"Not too badly," Ginny said frowning. "But, I really couldn't help it! Do you know how many people I was trying to heal that night?" she asked, sounding panicked. Harry put a hand on her arm gently.

"It's okay, Gin. Calm down, Charlie was just teasing you. You're a great healer, all right?" Harry assured, glaring at Charlie. Ginny smiled up at him briefly, nodding. "So, what have you been doing all morning?"

"Not much. Talking with Jake, mostly," Ginny said. Harry looked at her, smirking slightly.

"Oh, so we could have left you here alone a bit longer?" he asked. Ginny swatted him lightly.

"I would have gotten angry if you had forgotten about me, Potter. Oh, Sirius, where is Beth? I assumed you would have brought her along?" she said.

"Hey, Ginny, watch what you're saying there. Why would I have wanted to bring Beth along when I have to stop at Weasleys' Wizarding Wheezes to get pranks to play on her all year?" Sirius asked. "Besides, she'd tell Snape about everything," he added dejectedly. Ginny giggled at that, rolling her eyes.

"Sirius, you should set examples to your students, not telling them to play pranks on their professors," Ginny said.

"As long as you don't get caught, I'm not going to say a word about you playing pranks on your professors," he replied. Ginny, getting a wicked look on her face, leaned over to whisper something into Harry's ear. A slow smile broke out on his face, and he looked at her, nodding quickly.

"Here you two are, dears," Madam Rosmerta said, setting two plates on the table, full of steaming food. "Can I get the three of you anything?" she asked, looking at Sirius, Harry, and Charlie. They all quickly ordered, Harry stealing a chip from Ginny's plate. She glared at him.

"Wait for your own," she said, eating one herself. Harry rolled his eyes, leaning back in the chair.

"So, we're going to Fred and George's shop, then the Quidditch store, right?" he asked.

"And Honeydukes. We have to have lots of sweets for the school year," Ginny added. "Come on, Harry. You know you want lots of sweets. Maybe a blood flavored lollipop?" Harry groaned.

"Did you know that Ron and Hermione were seriously going to bring me one of those back when I wasn't allowed to go down to Hogsmeade in my third year? I would have been furious."

"Yeah, whatever. The only reason they wouldn't let you go was because they thought Sirius was trying to kill you," Ginny said, smiling at Sirius. Sirius simply rolled his eyes at the younger girl, watching as Harry sighed.

"Who cares why I couldn't go? I was allowed to the next year, and for as long as they continued. Besides, it's not like I . . . never mind," he said, glancing sharply at Jake. Ginny nodded in understanding, remembering that he had used his father's invisibility cloak and the Marauder's Map to get to Hogsmeade in his third year. 

"I better get back to the shop. I'll go pay for my dinner, and yours. I'll see you at school, Ginny," Jake said, pushing his chair out and walking off.

"Bye Jake," Ginny said, grinning at him. She leaned back in her seat after he was gone, noticing that everyone was staring at her. She sighed.

"What now?"

"Ginny's got a boyfriend!" Charlie started singing softly. She noticed Harry smiling at her, although the smile looked a little forced in her opinion.

"I don't have a boyfriend, Charlie. He's just nice, and I was alone, and I fixed his arm again, so he offered to get me a butterbeer as payment. If you would please leave me alone about it now, that would be appreciated," she said.

"I don't know, Gin," Sirius said, his brown eyes twinkling. "Not every guy would take you out, put up with Charlie, Harry, and I, and still pay for your lunch. I think he fancies you."

"And I think you're full of it. Now, here comes your food, so hurry up and eat, then we'll go shopping or whatever," Ginny said, grinning as Madam Rosmerta dropped their food off.

After quickly eating, the four went down to Weasleys' Wizarding Wheezes. It was Fred's day in the store, Ginny was sure. Sure enough, when they walked in, the energetic redhead bounded over to them.

"Gin, have a sweet?" he offered, grinning at her. Ginny pushed the hand away, smiling just as sweetly.

"No thank you. But, you do look a bit hungry. Perhaps I could buy it and you could eat it?" she suggested. "Really, we have to get supplies to last through the first trip to Hogsmeade," Ginny said. Fred nodded, waving at the fairly empty shop.

"This is the first day I've had to breathe. Everyone's been coming in here this summer, I guess they have more time to have fun. Anyway, I think that you'll find tons of good stuff. We have quills that change the color of your whole hand, gum that turns the chewer's face green, tons of interesting stuff!" Fred said.

"You know, Fred, I was around when you made the majority of these products. I know what you have. Now, where's the lipstick that seals a person's mouth together?" Ginny asked with a grin.

"On whom would you be using that?" Fred asked with a delighted grin. Ginny simply shrugged, waltzing off in the area he had indicated.

"Can you imagine what the school year will be like? Severus was so sure that he wouldn't have to deal with another Weasley prank, seemed to think Ginny was innocent," Sirius laughed.

"Well, you didn't set him straight, did you?" Harry asked. Sirius shook his head and Harry laughed as he watched Ginny thoughtfully examine the products.

"Now, what were you planning on getting, Sirius? We do have some pranks in mind for Severus and Beth, don't we?" Charlie asked in an innocent voice.

"That we do! I'll be right back," he said, rushing off. Harry shook his head sadly, before approaching Ginny.

"Are you getting everything we'll need for the Sirius prank?" he asked.

"Of course. And, a little bit of stuff to use on Colin and the more annoying girls in my year," Ginny said with a smirk. Harry shook his head.

"Leave me out of your plans after the feast tonight. I'll be forced to deduct points, and you know it," Harry whispered.

"Then I won't tell you. I'm sure Melia would be more than generous enough to help me with these pranks. Now, come on, Harry, let's pay for this and see if maybe Fred will give his favorite little sister a discount," Ginny said, heading to the checkout. Fred grinned at Ginny's purchases.

"That's about 2 galleons worth, so I'll charge you a galleon. Come on, now, Gin-Gin. And, I'll throw in some of the Ton-Tongue Toffees that wear off after fifteen minutes," Fred said.

"I knew I liked you the best for some reason," Ginny said, throwing a galleon out. Fred laughed, then looked over at Charlie.

"Better say that quietly, you have to put up with Charlie for the rest of the year," Fred pointed out.

"He wouldn't believe it. Besides, you all know that Bill's my favorite," Ginny said with a cheeky grin before walking off. Harry followed her over to Charlie, and the three of them waited for Sirius. He finally was done, and they all rushed off to Honeydukes, where Ginny stocked up on Chocolate Frogs, Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, and Pumpkin Pasties. Finally dragging Ginny out, the boys took her into the Quidditch store, examining new styles of brooms and different types of gear. Ginny leaned impatiently against the wall, looking up at the ceiling and patiently waiting.

"All right," she said after half an hour. "If we don't get back soon, you'll not have any time to change for dinner, or prepare for classes tomorrow. Let's go, shall we?" Ginny asked. Harry looked up guiltily.

"I suppose Ginny's right. Come on, guys," he said, leading the way out of the store. She started walking with them but soon stopped.

"What is it Gin?" Harry asked as they all stopped.

"Race you back to the castle," she said. Harry grinned widely.

"You're on! On the count of three," he said. He started counting, and at three Ginny sprinted off, running quickly. She heard Harry's footsteps pounding behind her, and leaped over a rock in her path. She was determined to beat him this time. 

Racing quickly down the path, she spotted a little-known track and ran up it, running more quickly as she approached the Hogwarts gates. She finally reached the gates, finding them empty. She leaned against them, panting slightly.

"Where did you disappear to?" Harry asked, panting and leaning against the gates next to her. Soon, Charlie and Sirius appeared, smiling at them.

"Side trial, it's usually faster. Come on, let's go in. We need to get ready for tonight, I'm sure Sirius has some plans," Ginny said with a grin. Harry laughed, pushing the gates open as the four of them made their way to the huge castle in front of them.

"I bet your stuff is already in Gryffindor Tower," Charlie commented.

"It is. I asked the house-elves to go ahead and move it. Gin, you can come back to the staff wing if you wish, but the password to the tower is 'verus amor'. See you around," Sirius said, walking off.

"Harry, do you want any help, or shall I go get changed?" Ginny asked.

"Doesn't matter. I think I'd like to visit the tower, though," Harry said. They went to the staff wing to get his notes for the next day and then headed up to Gryffindor Tower. The Fat Lady looked suspiciously at Harry, but admitted the two of them when they gave the password. Ginny plopped onto the couch, stretching out and looking over at Harry.

"All right, so tomorrow you have first years, seventh years, and the advanced class, right?" Ginny asked.

"Right. And you'll join me for the first year Ravenclaws and Gryffindors, and your class," Harry said.

"Um hmm . . . So, let's go over this. The first years are going to do what exactly?" Ginny asked.

"Um, I think we're going to have them study the dark creatures, minor ones, of course. They'll also have to learn spells to defend themselves against them. The Seventh Years will go over the more complex spells, and I'll have your class dueling one another so I can see exactly how good everyone is at things," Harry said. "But, I think that I may have you face off against me, since I know that you have the most talent in there, probably," Harry said.

"I'd certainly hope so. Then, the next day you have third years and fourth years, right?" Ginny asked.

"Yeah. The third years are still doing magical creatures, focusing on boggarts and the like, but they will start their defensive training in spells. Then, in fourth year classes will do the Unforgivable Curses and the Patronus, which should take up most of their year, and that's about it. I have the fifth and sixth and second year the next day, that's spells for the first two, and creatures for the last," Harry intoned.

"Good boy. I'll be there to help whenever I can, you know that. So, you're set," Ginny said, smiling at him. He grinned, leaning back into the couch.

"Well, I'm going back to my rooms to get changed and all, then I'll come back to get you before dinner?" he questioned.

"Sounds good. Make it about thirty minutes prior to when the lot of the professors have to get there, if we want to do the Charm on Sirius," Ginny said. Harry nodded.

"Sure. I'll be here soon," he said. Ginny giggled, and went up to her room to change into her robes and uniform and fix her hair again. She lay on her bed, watching the clock before taking a quick nap.

She was awoken a short half an hour later by Harry. He had burst in and exclaimed they needed to go do the prank on Sirius. They hurried down to the Great Hall and quickly Ginny pulled out one of her purchases that she bought at Fred's shop. She quickly placed the fork in Sirius's place setting. The fork would make his food jump away from his fork every time he used it and it would eventually explode, sending the food in his face.

"Is that all?" Harry asked. Ginny rolled her eyes at him and waved her wand over the chair, charming it to make Sirius turn purple.

"I think I'm done now," she said, sitting at Gryffindor's table. "Are you going to be okay. You're beginning to look all pale and shaky again. Sit down and chill. We have about forty-five minutes, right?" she asked. Harry nodded, and they sat at the table talking until all of the professors showed up.

"I better get up to the high table. I assume that you'll wait for everyone in the Main Hall?" Harry asked.

"Uh huh. Just so you know, I did put a Timing Charm on Sirius's chair. It won't go off until we've started eating dinner. Now, everyone should be arriving soon, and Professor Snape will be meeting the first years. I'm going to go wait for Melia," she said.

"Great. See you soon, then," Harry said, walking u to the High Table. Ginny nodded, before walking out into the main hall. Soon, a throng of students came in, rushing around.

"Ginny!" Melia shouted. Ginny ran over to Melia and hugged her quickly, before looking down at Colin (he was a few inches shorter than she was). 

"Hey guys. Shall we head to the table?" she asked. They all headed in, sitting towards the end of the table.

"Harry's here!" Colin said, sounding awed.

"Yes, he's teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts. Sirius Black, his godfather, will be teaching Transfiguration, and Beth Warren will be teaching Charms. Oh, Neville Longbottom is teaching Herbology, if anyone can believe it. Poor Neville, no one will respect him," she said, frowning.

"Sure we will," Melia said. Ginny sighed.

"We will. The Slytherins won't," she said. Melia nodded, biting her lip. 

"I guess you are right. I don't know; maybe there will be something that we can do. I don't guess anyone is friends with any of the Slytherins, though," she said.

"Actually, Jake Tapp is quite nice. I met him down in Hogsmeade today. He's a Slytherin, but fought with us last year, so he's halfway decent. He's really nice," Ginny said.

"How nice? And, you think he's cute or something?" Melia asked. Ginny grinned mischievously.

"Oh yeah. He's that one right there," she said, nodding at the Slytherin table and pointed him out. Melia looked at him, grinning as soon as she saw him.

"Definitely. He's very good looking, I'd go for him. Who'd care if he's a Slytherin?" she asked. Ginny giggled, then looked up at the High Table.

"Harry, Charlie, and Sirius care. I was hanging out with him at the Three Broomsticks earlier, and they started teasing me. Of course, the first thing on Harry's mind was whether or not he was a good Slytherin or a bad Slytherin. Doesn't that make you think of the Wizard of Oz? Are you a good witch, or a bad witch?" Ginny asked, grinning.

"What's the Wizard of Oz?" Melia asked mystified.

"It's a Muggle movie. Dad's obsessed with all things Muggle, so he made us go watch it a couple of years ago. I don't really remember where we saw it though . . . Oh well," Ginny said, shrugging. They laughed as the terrified first years were brought into the Great Hall. Dumbledore stood and gave a brief speech, before returning to his seat while Snape sorted the students.

It was automatic, clapping for anyone put into Gryffindor. Ginny simply watched as they all were brought in and sorted, but really paid no attention. Finally, the last of the students had been sorted, and Dumbledore stood again.

"I would like to introduce your new professors. Professor Sirius Black will be teaching Transfiguration, Neville Longbottom will teach Herbology, Beth Warren will be teaching Charms, and Harry Potter will teach Defense Against the Dark Arts. The Forbidden Forest is, as its name implies, forbidden. Also, there is to be no magic in the hallways. Now, please eat," Dumbledore said, waving his arm. The tables were soon covered in food, and everyone started eating their food.

"So, you two are in the Advanced Defense Against the Dark Arts class, right?" Ginny asked. Melia nodded, taking a bite of the roll.

"Yes! Oh, that means that Harry will be able to work with us intimately!" Colin exclaimed. _I'm sure Colin would love for him and Harry to get intimate_, Ginny thought, stifling a giggle and sharing an amused glance with Melia. Melia was quickly turning red as she fought to control her giggles; her mind was obviously following the same track as Ginny's.

"It means Harry's going to be harder on us," Ginny said, her giggles having subsided. "He'll expect a lot, but he hasn't gotten everything planned out yet. It should be fun," Ginny said.

"How do you know?" Colin asked.

"Didn't I mention that I would be his assistant?" Ginny asked. "Oh, well. I'm helping Harry out," she said, before jumping at a loud explosion. Her eyes swerved to the scene, laughing at the sight of a very purple Sirius (including his hair, robes, and eyes) covered in food. She started laughing, glancing over at Harry. Harry was beside himself with laughter, and Beth was laughing just as hard.

"Very nice," Sirius said, wiping the food from his face. "I just want to know who did this." The entire hall was silent, save an occasional snicker or giggle. He finally shrugged, grabbing a roll and shoving it into his mouth.

"Anyway, why do you get to be Harry's assistant?" Colin demanded.

"I'm one of his best friends, and the only of his best friends who still goes to school here, and he knows my talent in Defense Against the Dark Arts. And, I can heal somebody if something goes wrong," Ginny said, rolling her eyes.

"I want to be his assistant," Colin said.

"Good for you," Ginny said. "I have to lead the little kids back to the tower now, you want to come?" she asked, addressing Melia and Colin. They both nodded, following her to the end of the table.

"Hey, first years! You get to follow me to Gryffindor Tower!" Ginny exclaimed. About ten kids stood up and followed her out of the room.

"Okay, I'm the Gryffindor seventh year prefect, Ginny Weasley. There is also a sixth year, and a fifth year. They should be in the meeting that Dumbledore is hosting now. I'm showing you the easiest way to get back to the tower, and just so you know, the staircases are prone to changing. You will get lost your first year.

"Also, the people in the pictures move and talk, for the Muggle-Borns out there. Anyway, there is a portrait that guards the entrance to Gryffindor Tower. We have a password to get in, and it changes every month or so. The head of Gryffindor chooses. Sirius Black—the Transfiguration professor—is the head of Gryffindor. Any questions?" Ginny questioned.

"Are we really going to be taught by the Harry Potter?" one girl breathed in a dreamy sigh. Ginny sighed herself, suddenly realizing why Harry never really talked to her before her fifth year if she behaved like that.

"Yes, but don't act like that. Harry, Professor Potter is a normal person. I'm sure he won't appreciate being awed over. Simply respect him," Ginny advised. A few of the younger students were staring at her.

"Gin knows Harry pretty well," Melia said to the first years. "You see, she had this awful crush on him from the day she was born until she was fourteen. What happened then, Gin?" 

"I found out that he was a great friend, and I didn't have to date him," Ginny replied. "Look, you know that Harry and I are friends, and I've been trying to put that stupid crush behind me for years, Melia," Ginny said with a frown. 

Finally reaching the portrait of the Fat Lady, she looked down at the students. "This is the entrance to Gryffindor Tower. Like I said, you have to know the password to enter. Now, I have to remember what Sir—Professor Black said the password was . . ." Ginny appeared lost in thought, but finally grinned. "Of course! It's verus amor!" she said triumphantly. The Fat Lady swung open.

"Okay, girls down this hallway, guys down that one. There should be a dormitory for first years, so please settle down. We have to be at breakfast at seven tomorrow morning. Classes will start promptly at eight, and the timetables have to be passed out at breakfast. Goodnight," Ginny said, watching them go to their separate dormitories.

"Are you going to bed now?" Melia asked.

"No. Do you want to play chess?" Ginny returned. So, for the next two hours they played chess, with Ginny finally winning, before going to bed.

"Goodnight girls!" Ginny said as she crawled into her bed and stretched out. Her last thought before sleep was how much more comfortable the beds were in the staff wing.


End file.
